The propagation characteristics of the leaky modes in planar anisotropic waveguides with a multilayer structure have been investigated by means of a compact rigorous formalism. The leakage losses and leaky transition angle have been studied for the fundamental and first hybrid modes. An inhomogeneous waveguide and buffered step index type structure have been discussed. Particular attention has been devoted to the variation of the loss coefficient of the leaky modes as a function of buffer thickness and buffer refractive index. A notably different behavior has been obtained for various configurations.