In order to understand the disturbance and deformation characteristics of clay during the penetration of soil sampler, the novel transparent clay made by Aristoflex AVC and the particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique were used to carry out the penetration tests of soil sampler with different sizes through the visual model test device. The test results show that the deformation distribution characteristics of soil in different sections are nearly the same, and the deformation decreases as it distances away from the tube wall. The soil at the lower part of the sampler has good integrity, and the shear strain of the soil within about 0.19 times the core diameter from the central axis of sampler is small, which is suitable for doing the laboratory experiment. Sampler penetration disturbance is mainly caused by the frictional resistance of the sidewall and the squeezing effect of edged foot, so increasing the inner diameter of soil sampler can effectively reduce the compressive deformation of soil in the sampler.