The paper presents the phenomenon of principal stress rotation in cohesive subsoil resulting from its loading or unloading and the impact of this phenomenon on the values of soil shear strength parameters: undrained shear strength τfu, effective cohesion c’, effective angle of internal friction φ’. For this purpose, tests in a triaxial apparatus and torsional shear hollow cylinder apparatus on selected undisturbed cohesive soils: sasiCl, saclSi, clSi, Cl, characterized by different index properties were carried out. Soil shear strength parameters were determined at angle of principal stress rotation α equal to 0° and 90° in tests in triaxial apparatus and α equal to 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 75°, 90° in tests in torsional shear hollow cylinder apparatus. The results of laboratory tests allow to assess the influence of the principal stress rotation on the shear strength parameters that should be used to determine the bearing capacity of the subsoil.