Abstract：The failure of jointed rock under shear loading is commonly demonstrated as propagation and coalescence between neighboring fractures，therefore，it is of great importance for engineering design to study shear strength and failure pattern of jointed rock with several pre-existing joints. Rock Failure Process Analysis code (RFPA2D) is employed to simulate the failure process of rock specimen with several discontinuous flaws under shear testing. The influence of flaws’ geometrical characteristic on failure pattern and shear strength is discussed. The results demonstrate that the failure patterns are mainly controlled by the flaws’ geometrical characteristics. Due to the heterogeneity，rock failure mainly results from tensile damage but shear damage still exists，which has influence on the shear strength.
