To adapt to the development trend of inquiry teaching reform in higher education, and enhance the classroom attraction, the flipped classroom teaching mode was analyzed. Combined with the teaching requirements of engineering courses in universities, the characteristics of courses suitable for the mode of flipped classroom was set forth. The contrast teaching of flipped classroom and traditional classroom was carried out in soil mechanics course. The students were divided into A group and B group. Students of A group joined in flipped classroom and information transmission process wasfinished before class through micro learning video. The teacher designed learning problems to guide the group discussions and the knowledge absorption process was completed in class. Students of B group joined in traditional classroom and they finished the learning problems after class by themselves. Teaching effect was analyzed through the questionnaire and the test in class. Analysis results showed that students of A group were higher than students of B group in the ability to understand and use knowledge.