In this paper, ultimate compressive strength of TMCP 50HT steel plates (yield stress .sigma.$_{o}$=36kg/mm$^{2}$) with HAZ softening is studied. Finite element method formulated by the author is applied to analyze the elasto-plastic large deflection behaviour of the plates. The influence of HAZ softening breadth, welding direction and slenderness ratio on the ultimate compressive strength is investigated. The results obtained are summarized as 1) With the increasing of the HAZ softening breadth, early plasticity on the plates is formed and then the ultimate compressive strength is decreased, in which about 8% of the ultimate strength for the plate with h/t=4(h: HAZ softening breadth, t: plate thickness) was reduced comparing with no HAZ softening. 2) The large decrease of the ultimate strength for the case that the welding direction is normal to the loading direction is occurred than the case that the welding direction is parallel to the loading direction. 3) The influence of HAZ softening on the ultimate compressive strength is serious for thick plates, while it may be negligible for thin plates.s.