Abstract: An analytical model is presented to determine the peak load of single-edge notched concrete specimens subjected to uniaxial tensile loads, based on a fictitious crack model. Then the relationship between the tensile stress at the fictitious crack tip and the uniaxial tensile strength of concrete is established based on the proposed model. The results show that the ratio of the tensile stress at the fictitious crack tip to the uniaxial tensile strength of concrete increases with the increase of the initial crack length but is insensitive to the concrete strength. It is mainly because that there are always apparent stress gradients in the cross-sections due to the inevitable initial cracks in concrete specimens, and hence the uniaxial tensile strength should be the mean value of the stresses in the cross-section. But the tensile stress at the fictitious crack tip is the maximum stress in the cross-section. Obviously, the stress gradient increases with the increase of the initial crack length. Consequently, the ratio of the tensile stress at the fictitious crack tip to the uniaxial tensile strength of concrete becomes larger. The tensile stress at the fictitious crack tip is generally approximately 1.22 times of the uniaxial tensile strength of concrete and around the value of the modulus of rupture.