An opened bottom cylinder is a large-diameter cylinder placed on a rubber base or embedded in a soil foundation. The settlement of such a cylinder differs greatly from that of a closed bottom cylinder and so does the distribution of inner soil pressure over the opened bottom cylindrical structure. Through investigation of the settlement and the inner soil pressure on the opened bottom cylinder by model experiments, the interactions among the filler inside the cylinder, subsoil and cylinder are analyzed. The adjusting mechanism of friction resistance between the inner filler and the wall of the cylinder during overturning of the cylinder is discussed. Based on the experimental study, a method for calculating the inner soil pressure on the cylindrical structure under axisymmetric loading or non- axisymmetric (with lateral) loading is proposed in this paper. Meanwhile, the effective anti-overturning ratio of the opened bottom cylinder is derived. An opened bottom cylinder is a large-diameter cylinder placed on a rubber base or embedded in a soil foundation. The settlement of such a cylinder unusable from that of a closed bottom cylinder and so does the distribution of inner soil pressure over the opened bottom Through investigation of the settlement and the inner soil pressure on the opened bottom cylinder by model experiments, the interactions among the filler inside the cylinder, subsoil and cylinder are analyzed. The adjusting mechanism of friction resistance between the inner filler and the wall of the cylinder during overturning of the cylinder is discussed. Based on the experimental study, a method for calculating the inner soil pressure on the cylindrical structure under axisymmetric loading or non-axisymmetric (with lateral) loading is proposed in this paper. Meanwhile, the effective anti-overturning ratio of the opened bottom cylinder is derived.