Relevance. Hydroelectric facilities include reinforced concrete retaining walls. They are intended to protect the main structures from the collapse and sliding of soil massifs. Retaining walls are characterized by significant size, relatively low content of reinforcement, the presence of horizontal interblock seams, which considerably affects the features of the work and the state of retaining walls. The normative documents that were in force during the design and construction of most retaining walls (the second half of the last century) did not fully take into account the features of the retaining walls, as a result of which long-term operation revealed deviations from the design premises, including excessive displacement of the top of the walls, the disclosure of horizontal interblock joints, which exceeded the design values. In a number of cases, reinforced concrete structures of retaining walls were reinforced in areas of interblock joints. The aim of the work is to conduct experimental studies of reinforced concrete retaining walls, including taking into account their reinforcement by inclined reinforcing bars. Methods. The technique of experimental studies of hydraulic engineering reinforced concrete structures was applied in accordance with regulatory documents and the developed program of experimental studies of reinforced concrete retaining walls. The results obtained showed the opening of horizontal interblock joints, the formation of inclined cracks emerging from the joints. An increase in the strength of reinforced concrete structures of retaining walls and a decrease in their deformability due to reinforcement by inclined rods in the area of the interblock weld were recorded.