Abstract: Based on a virtual soil-pile model and by virtue of an elastic-perfectly plastic model, the settlement analysis of a single pile embedded in layered soil is conducted by using a load transfer method. Firstly, the interaction between pile side soil and a pile is modeled as an ideal elastoplastic transfer model, and assuming the developmental plastic depth to be an independent variable, a new calculation method for the settlement of a single pile in homogeneous soil is derived and extended to the single pile settlement analysis in layered soil by a recursive method. On this basis, the analysis of the parameter selection of a load transfer model and the factors as well as the selection method of virtual soil-pile length are conducted. Then, by means of the presented method, the influence of pile-soil system parameters on load-displacement curves is studied. Finally, comparing the calculation results of this method with that of the measured and normative method, it is shown that: within a certain range of load, the pile top settlement calculated by this presented method is approximate to the measured value, and also superior to the normative method.