Water content significantly affects the mechanical properties of porous rocks, for which both clay content and rock microstructure have been identified as main controlling factors. To study the influence of microstructure on the water effect on rock properties, artificial porous rock (APR) is made by heating Fangshan granite (FG). The mineral composition and microstructure of the thermally treated FG were determined, and 1000 °C was chosen as the treatment temperature to fabricate the APR. APR specimens with various water saturations (100%, 80%, 60%, 40%, 20%, and 0%) were prepared by drying fully saturated APR specimens. The quasi-static responses of the APR specimens during uniaxial and triaxial compression (with confining pressures of 5 MPa and 10 MPa) experiments were obtained. The results show that the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of the APR slightly increases with increasing water saturation from dry (0% saturation) to 60% saturation, and the cohesion shows a similar trend. However, the triaxial compressive strength decreases with increasing water saturation. The cohesion and internal frictional angle were obtained from the compression tests, and their dependence on the saturation was revealed, which can be explained by the interaction of the water and the rock microstructure. Keywords Heat treatment • Artificial porous rock (APR) • Water content • Water weakening mechanism • Saturation List of symbols APR Artificial porous rock CPL Cross polarized light CT Computed tomography FG Fangshan granite ISRM International Society for Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering LVDT Linear variable differential transducer PPL Plane polarized light SEM Scanning electron microscopy UCS Uniaxial compressive strength n Porosity of rock specimen V v Pore volume of rock specimen (cm 3 ) V Bulk volume of rock specimen (cm 3 ) S r Degree of saturation (%) V w Volume of water (cm 3 ) f Ultimate shear stress (MPa) nor Normal stress (MPa) C Cohesion (MPa) Internal friction angle (°) F m Resisting stress of the meniscus effect w