Abstract: In the perspective of Newton mechanics, the finite particle method (FPM) is a new numerical analysis method, discretizing the analytic domain into a group of particles whose motions can be easily determined according to the forces applied on them. It has extraordinary superiority for analyzing structures and mechanisms with nonlinear properties undergoing rigid body motions or large deformations. Based on FPM, the buckling of a thin shell is analyzed in this paper. In order to trace the full equilibrium path, the explicit arc-length method (ALM) is cooperated to solve the snap through phenomena. Also an explicit contact algorithm is modified for contact analysis during buckling or lager deformation. Finally, several numerical examples with behaviors of static, dynamic etc. are presented to demonstrate the performance and applicability of the proposed approach. Compared with other works and experiments, the results of numerical examples solved by a self-designed program reveal that the presented method is feasible for the buckling analysis of a thin shell and can capture the full equilibrium path during buckling.