Abstract: In order to investigate the effect of material damage accumulation, semi-rigid joints and rigid zone of joints on the dynamic behavior of suspend-dome structures under severe earthquakes, finite element analysis was performed on welded ball joints subjected to axial force and bending. The M-θ curves of welded ball joints were obtained, and then the semi-rigid joint model was established. Furthermore, five suspend-dome models considering semi-rigid joints, rigid zone of joints and material damage accumulation respectively were analyzed. The results show that: semi-rigid joints and material damage accumulation cause fully-developed structural plasticity and uniform structural stiffness; the structural failure areas, failure modes and the structural ductility are also changed. So the semi-rigid joints, rigid zone of joints and material damage accumulation have a great impact on the dynamic behavior of suspend-dome structures.