Controlled low strength material (CLSM) is a flowable mixture that can be used as a backfill material in place of compacted soils. Flowable fill requires no tamping or compaction to achieve its strength and typically has a load carrying capacity much higher than compacted soils, but it can still be excavated easily. The selection of CLSM type should be based on technical and economical considerations for specific applications. In this study, a mixture of high volume fly ash (FA), crushed limestone powder (filler) and a low percentage of pozzolana cement have been tried in different compositions. The amount of pozzolana cement was kept constant for all mixes as, 5% of fly ash weight. The amount of mixing water was chosen in order to provide optimum pumpability by determining the spreading ratio of CLSM mixtures using flow table method. The shear strength of the material is a measure of the materials ability to support imposed stresses on the material. The shear strength properties of CLSM mixtures have been investigated by a series of laboratory tests. The direct shear test procedure was applied for determining the strength parameters Phi (angle of shearing resistance) and C-h (cohesion intercept) of the material. The test results indicated that CLSM mixtures have superior shear strength properties compared to compacted soils. Shear strength, cohesion intercept and angle of shearing resistance values of CLSM mixtures exceeded conventional soil materials' similar properties at 7 days. These parameters proved that CLSM mixtures are suitable materials for backfill applications. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.