Clinching is a method of joining sheet metals together. This process can be substituted for the resistance spot welding on the joining of aluminum alloys. However, the joining strength of the clinching is lower than that of welding and riveting. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the effect of shape parameters of tools on the joining strength of the clinching and to optimize clinching tools. Twelve parameters have been selected as shape parameters on the clinching tools such as punch and die. The design of experiments (DOE) method is employed to investigate the effect of the shape parameters of tools on the joining strength of the clinching. The neck thickness and undercut of the clinched sheet metal after the clinching, and the separation load at detaching are estimated from the result of FEA using DEFORM. Optimal combination of shape parameters to maximize the joining strength of clinching is determined on the basis of the result of DOE and FEA. In order to validate the result of DOE and FEA, the experiment of clinching is performed for the optimal combination of shape parameters. It is shown from the result of the experiment that optimization of shape parameters improves the joining strength of clinching.