<p>This paper presents experimental study on two shored mechanically stabilized earth (SMSE) walls to investigate the influence of anchors under vertical loading. The models were designed according to the similitude relationships, and were constructed using a poorly graded sand, biaxial geogrid and full-height rigid facing, then a series of vertical stresses with increasing amplitudes were applied to the two models. Experiment results indicate that the anchors have a minor influence on the facing displacements and settlements for small applied vertical stresses. As the applied vertical stresses increase, the influence of anchors becomes pronounced, and the facing displacements and settlements increase significantly. Moreover, the displacements and settlements of the SMSE wall with anchors are smaller than those of the SMSE wall without anchors. The incremental vertical soil stresses at the bottom of the two models under different applied vertical stresses exhibit similar trends. However, the distribution of vertical soil stresses in the SMSE wall with anchors is more uniform, and the magnitudes of the vertical soil stresses are smaller. For the SMSE wall without anchors, the locations of maximum reinforcement strain follow an approximately linear distribution, whereas a Y-shaped distribution is observed for the SMSE wall with anchors.</p>