Taking a gravity retaining wall as an engineering example, an initial checking calculation has been made of the stability, foundation bearing capacity and section stress of the retaining wall by adopting the normalized geotechnical calculation and analysis software. Secondly, ANSYS finite element analysis software is used to establish a refined analysis model based on its plane strain. Finally, the contact element is used for an analysis with the surface friction between the soil mass and the retaining wall taken into consideration. The results show that the stability, foundation bearing capacity and section stress of the gravity retaining wall meet requirements of the structural stress, with its small structural deformation making enough principal tensile stress reserve possible. Given the vulnerability of the high wall filling to damage, it is highly recommended that the anti-skid tenons set up or the slope of the wall bottom be increased.