End effects due to sectional deformations of thin-walled beams with closed cross section are analysed by a one-dimensional theory. In particular, end effects associated with warping (out of plane m otion) and distortion (in plane motion) are investigated. The exact solutions as a vector form are newly derived to reveal slowly-decaying nature of the end effects in a thin-walled beam loaded by a couple. Several examples of thin-walled beams under various loading conditions indicate that the local end effect zone due to warping and distortion is approximately ten times the typical beam width.