This paper investigates the shear strength characteristics of the natural rubber (NR) bonded sand. The sand natural rubber (SNR) mixtures were prepared by adding five different NR contents namely 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30% by weight of dry sand. Direct shear apparatus was employed to investigate the effect of the NR content on shear strength and dilation behavior of the SNR specimens. In addition, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis was conducted to observe the microscale direct interaction between sand particle and NR. The obtained results demonstrated that the shear strength behaviors of sand become ductile materials with adding the NR content. Result from the SEM analysis reveals that the voids between sand particles are filled by the NR which sand particles are coated and bonded together with the NR. Degree of improvement of the stress ratio and shear strength parameter that is a function of the NR content indicated that the NR effectively improves the shear strength of sand.