<p>Electroosmosis is currently limited by high energy consumption and electrode corrosion. In this study, electroosmosis was carried out for gold tailings under intermittent current conditions using electrokinetic geosynthetic (EKG) electrodes. The influences of the on–off cycle and on–off ratio on water discharge, energy consumption, and resistance were investigated. The results show that water discharge increases and then decreases with the on–off cycle. The average total resistance increases and then decreases with the on–off cycle, while it shows the opposite trend with the on–off ratio. Within the first 30&#xa0;min, the current displays a peaked "Λ" shape that is mainly affected by the anode contact resistance. After 30&#xa0;min, the current tends to increase and mainly depends on the cathode contact resistance. Within a cycle after 30&#xa0;min, the current follows an "L" shape. Upon turning on the current, H⁺ is enriched near the anode to rapidly elevate the anode contact resistance and suppress the current. When H⁺ in this region becomes saturated, the anode contact resistance stabilizes, the cathode contact resistance decreases, and the current increases slightly. The optimal on–off cycle was 12.5&#xa0;min with an on–off ratio of four, at which point the total energy consumption was reduced to 93.9% and the energy consumption ratio to 84.2%. These results facilitate further studies on the action of intermittent current during electroosmosis and reducing the energy consumption in electroosmotic technology.</p>