This study attempted to establish the relationship between text reading strategies and working memory capacity. Specifically, we sought to determine if low span readers use strategies to compensate for low working memory capacity. The participants were 44 university students. The working memory span of each student was measured using the Japanese version of the Reading Span Test (RST). Next, the participants read an unfamiliar text and a familiar text followed by a comprehension test. As they read, their eye movements were measured using an eye mark recorder. Finally, the participant field was reduced to 18, including 9 high span readies and 9 low span readers. Low span readers showed more frequent short-duration eye fixation remarkably when read the forequarter of unfamiliar text than high span readers. This suggests that low span readers use compensatory strategies to reduce the demands placed to working memory.