In this study, large-size direct shear tests were conducted to determine the interfacial shear characteristics of sand geotextile under three different normal stresses. The geotextiles used in the present study were hybrid needlepunched nonwovens containing defined weight proportions of jute and polypropylene fibers. Subsequently, the interfacial shear characteristics of hybrid and that of a nonwoven geotextile consisting of solely polypropylene fibers with sand were compared and analyzed under different normal stresses. Initial higher shear stiffness of sand-polypropylene geotextiles was observed corresponding to sand-hybrid geotextiles specifically under higher normal stresses. Nevertheless, the contact efficiency of sand-hybrid nonwovens was similar to that of sand-polypropylene geotextiles. The surface morphology of sand particles has been investigated based on the images obtained from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and quantitatively analyzed by means of Wadell roundness and degree of angularity methods. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.