Stability of many ocean structures is affected by seabed scour induced by under-currents. The depth of scour is an important parameter for determining the minimum depth of foundations as it reduces the lateral capacity of the foundations. A review of the literature reveals that there is not much information available in the field of scour in cohesive soils. Hence, a detailed laboratory testing programme on model piles of diameters 50 mm to 110 mm embedded in soft silty clay soil was carried out in a wave flume of 30 m long, 2.0 m wide and 1.7 m deep, which has the capability of simulating steady currents. Scour around the pile due to steady streaming is monitored by using special instrumentation. A procedure has been suggested to predict the ultimate scour depths based on the observed variation in scour depth over a limited time period. The study indicates that the ultimate scour depth is controlled by diameter of obstruction, current velocity, model Reynolds number, flow Froude number, shear stress, and soil characteristics. Based on these results, a few functional relationships are suggested between scour depth and other parameters like Reynolds number, Froude number, and strength of the soil bed. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.