This paper discusses numerical results from three-dimensional large eddy simulations of an oscillating cylinder under prescribed movements in uniform flow. Six cases,namely pure in-line,pure cross-flow and two groups of ’Figure of Eight’ oscillation patterns are under investigation at Reynolds number Re=24000. The ’Figure of Eight’ pattern in each group is with identical shape but opposite orbital directions. The numerical results on hydrodynamic forces,higher order force components,and vortex shedding modes are extensively studied and compared with the measured experimental data. It is found that the fluid force in phase with the velocity,which represents the energy transfer between the fluid and the cylinder,has opposite sign and different magnitude due to the opposite orbital direction. Higher order force components in cross-flow direction are found to occur at odd number times of the oscillating frequency,while even numbers dominate the higher order force components in in-line direction. The 2C and 2T vortex shedding modes are well reproduced due to the opposite orbital direction effect. Comparisons between numerical and experimental results indicate that the present numerical model could be a rational tool for the identification of hydrodynamic coefficients which are normally applied in empirical models to predict the vortex-induced vibrations of slender marine structures. This paper includes numerical results from three-dimensional large eddy simulations of an oscillating cylinder under prescribed movements in uniform flow. Six cases, pure pure-in-line, pure cross-flow and two groups of ’Figure of Eight’ oscillation patterns are under investigation at Reynolds number Re = 24000. The ’Figure of Eight’ pattern in each group is with identical shape but opposite orbital directions. The numerical results on hydrodynamic forces, higher order force components, and vortex shedding modes are extensively studied and compared with the measured experimental data. It is found that the fluid force in phase with the velocity, which represents the energy transfer between the fluid and the cylinder, has an opposite sign and different magnitude due to the opposite orbital direction. are found to occur at odd number times of the oscillating frequency, while even numbers dominate the higher order force components in-line dire ction. The 2C and 2T vortex shedding modes are well reproduced due to the opposite orbital direction effect. Comparisons between numerical and experimental results indicate that the present numerical model could be a rational tool for the identification of hydrodynamic coefficients which are normally applied in whom models to predict the vortex-induced vibrations of slender marine structures.