The objective of this article is to propose an experimental method to compare the gas permeability of all the different materials used as gas barrier, such as compacted clay liners or geomembranes. This method is based on the falling pressure experiment, allowing the determination of a single coefficient whatever the material tested. This coefficient is the time constant tau, which is obtained by analytical solutions of the simplified equations describing the transport of gas through the material. The domain of validity is specified for porous media, thanks to a numerical solution of the complete equations system. Two applications are presented, showing the applicability of the method on compacted clay liners and on high density polyethylene geomembranes.