The wave washer springs are widely used in non-return valves of fluid, especially in air check valves to confirm the rapid shut-off of valve propers. The stiffness of wave washer springs used in suction and exhaust valves of reciprocating air compressor play an important role on efficiency of the compressor. If the stiffness of the spring is too high, the pressure differences necessary to open the valves become high and the volumetric efficiency of cylinder decreasse. If the stiffness of the spring too low, the valve can not be closed rapidly and the inverse flow of air can take place. So, the optimum stiffness of valve spring is very important and it will be very helpful that the stiffness of wave washer springs to be used in suction and exhaust valves can be calculated in design stage of air compressor. In this paper the formula for calculating the spring constant of wave washer spring is introduced using bending and torsion theory of frames. The experiments are also carried out to measure the spring constants of several samples. It is proven that the calculated spring constants of wave washer springs are coincided well with measured values and that the formula presented in this paper for calculating the spring constants of wave washer spring is very useful for design of valves used in reciprocating air compressor.