Abstract: This paper is concerned with the finite element analysis of softening materials. Special attention is paid to the methods for overcoming the mesh sensitivity in the analysis. An introduction is first given to the gradient theory which is widely recognized as a theoretically sound method. Then an improved method is proposed on the basis of the former one to overcome the difficulties in it's numerical implementation. Several numerical examples are presented, including a softening bar under tension, a biaxial test simulation and a slope stability problem, to show the efficiency and reliability of the proposed method.