Abstract: The solution of frictional contact problems is vital to the simulation of crack propagation in the MLS-based numerical manifold method (MLS-NMM). Through the application of penalty-linear complementarity model for contact constraint conditions and Lagrange multiplier method for imposing essential boundary condition, this study presents the solving method of frictional contact problems using MLS-NMM. The method does not require the nodes on the boundaries, which means that the nodes may be outside of domain and uniformly distributed. Thus it can improve the interpolation precision and reduce the difficulty of the distribution for nodes, especially for those on contact boundaries. The use of penalty-linear complementarity model can make the calculation format unified and concise, which is favorable for programming. Numerical examples show that the proposed method can accurately simulate the contact state of opening, bonding and slipping. The method is a feasible and effective solution for frictional contact problem.