Abstract: To analysis the internal forces and deformations of gliding cable structures,one element taking friction into consideration was developed.Based on the analytical static solutions of cable derived by the author,the single side gliding stiffness at the end of cable segment was derived,and used to determine the cable friction gliding stiffness at the support.This new three-node element is named friction gliding cable element.It takes the support as the middle node.The new element is composed of two elastic catenary elements.The friction relation is satisfied at the support through adjusting cable unstrained length according to the tensions on both sides of the support,the gliding direction,and the friction gliding stiffness at the support.Examples indicate that the arithmetic of this new element is correct and effective.This new element can be incorporated into conventional finite element analysis schemes,to analyze the gliding cable structures in service or under construction.