Air inlet wells have been employed to enhance the fresh air flushing through the target-contaminated soils in many soil vapor extraction systems. The analytical solution presented here evaluates the efficiency of the airflow to these inlet wells under the conditions of leaky surface boundary, anisotropic soils, and partially screened extraction. Using the analytical solution, the efficiency of air inlet wells is illustrated through sensitivity studies by varying system parameters (number of inlet wells, well spacing, well radius, and screen condition) and soil parameters (leaky factor and anisotropy). ¿ American Geophysical Union 1996