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The study was conducted during 2010 at Pir Mehr Ali Shah, Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Pakistan, to screen soil additives with improved water retention. Different soil additives i.e. Qemisoyl, gypsum, compost and farm yard manure (FYM) were evaluated to quantify plant available water under controlled conditions. The samples of clay loam soil were subjected to various pressure levels (33 to 1500 kpa) to develop soil moisture characteristic curves. The results revealed that highest soil moisture content at field capacity (0.284 m(3) m(-3)), permanent wilting point (0.146 m(3) m(-3)) and plant available water content (0.138 m(3) m(-3)) was recorded with the application of Qemisoyl @ 15 kg ha(-1) as compared to control (0.251, 0.128 and 0.123 m(3) m(-3), respectively). Generally, the combined use of various soil additives was equivalent to their sole applications. The results indicated that soil moisture retention can be enhanced with the application of soil additives especially Qemisoyl @ 15 kg ha(-1) that gave about 12% higher moisture retention than control to achieve higher levels of crop production in drought-hit areas to ensure food security. Further comprehensive field studies based on results of present laboratory study may help develop useful water harvesting/capturing interventions at the farm scale.