It is a classic procedure that has been applied in our country for a long time to leave the chestnut wood under the effect of rain water for a while before it is used. In this study, the effect of leaching process conducted under outdoor and laboratory conditions in Anatolian chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) wood was investigated for some physical properties of the wood. The effect of leaching process on oven-dried density, water uptake and water repellency properties, swelling and anti-swelling efficiency properties, and compression strength parallel to the grain were determined on the wood samples taken from two different locations of Eastern Black Sea Region. The results showed that leaching process resulted in an increasing of water uptake and swelling ratios of wood, but no effect on oven-dried density values. While leaching process in laboratory conditions decreased the compression strength, it was increased in natural conditions.