Alkali-activated industrial by-products (granulated blast furnace slag, Class F fly ash) by traditional alkali activator (such as NaOH and Na2SiO3) serves as a partial replacement for Portland cement in soil stabilization projects and suffers from environmental and technical problems. Reactive MgO–a greener and more practical alternative has recently emerged as a potential activator for slag and fly ash, but its micromechanisms of alkaline activation still need to be deeply investigated for strength improvement of soils. Hence, this study focuses on the strength and hydration properties of reactive MgO-slag and MgO-fly ash solidified soils, especially incorporating the impact of elevated curing temperature. Reactive MgO is proved to be excellent as a novel activator for activation of slag and fly ash, and their activating efficiency increases with elevated curing temperature that helps to remarkably enhance the compressive strength of soils. The major hydration products for reactive MgO-slag solidified soils, detected jointly by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and thermogravimetric/differential thermogravimetric tests, are calcium silicate hydrate gels and hydrotalcite-like phases. The primary hydration products for MgO-fly ash solidified soils are magnesium silicate hydrate gels and Mg(OH)2. That is just the intrinsic reason why the microstructure of solidified soils becomes much denser and the mechanical behavior is significantly improved. The minor carbonate phases such as magnesium carbonate and/or calcite are also observed in reactive MgO-slag and MgO-fly ash solidified soils, depending on the period of exposure to air. The curing temperature and binder amount are proved to be the two major factors governing the hydration process of reactive MgO-slag and MgO-fly ash blends. A higher curing temperature and binder amount can generate more hydration products, but their chemical compositions such as accurate element ratios need to be investigated in the future study. © 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.