PURPOSES : In this study, the applicability of the water content, suction, and suction stress in a resilient modulus prediction model for a subbase was reviewed. METHODS : To compare the applicability of water content, suction, and suction stress models for resilient modulus prediction, the suction stress was determined based on the soil water characteristic curve. The model parameters for each approach were derived from the measured resilient moduli. Finally, the relationships between the degree of saturation and resilient modulus were analyzed using the calculated model parameters. RESULTS : Prediction models of the resilient modulus based on water content and suction demonstrated high correlation with measured values, but overestimated the resilient modulus at saturation levels beyond the laboratory testing range. In contrast, the model accounting for suction stress effectively reduced this overestimation, likely owing to a decrease in suction stress as the suction increased. CONCLUSIONS : Based on the above results, the resilient modulus of subbase materials could be estimated through the change in the degree of saturation and the stress-dependent resilient modulus model using the suction stress proposed in this study.