Abstract: Whole process analysis of cylindrical shells under localized axial forces is carried out by nonlinear finite element method, and a comparing experiment is reported in this paper. Both finite element analysis and experimental study reveal that, a thin cylindrical shell buckles near the area where local forces are applied, and a local dimple appears due to buckling. A more-or-less constant force is required to maintain the equilibrium of the dimple in the post-buckling stage. The force is taken as the post-buckling load of a cylindrical shell and it may govern the actual buckling load of the shell. The formula to calculate the force is given in this paper.