Although not univocally determined by the compressibility and the pore pressure dissipation pattern of the constituents of the materials under deformation, one has for long used the coefficient of compression to compare and predict the behavior of soft saturated materials under compression. Once this coefficient is clearly understood and treated as being a parameter, which cannot be considered independent of rate, time and temperature, for example, one can extract valuable tendencies and eventually control the expression progress based on effective stress to hydraulic pressure ratio. Furthermore, axial and radial drainage situations can be related using such a coefficient, therewith enhancing the prediction of the related solid-liquid separation processes with an emphasis on the influence of the rate of deformation. Based on several examples the present study outlined the above in a way that opens new areas of investigation of the compression of saturated porous materials originated mostly from biological and mineral sources. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.