Abstract. The method of matched asymptotic expansions is used to describe the finite deformation of thin shells of revolution with a small circular hole at the apex. The loading is assumed to be a rotationally symmetric, smoothly varying normal pressure. The mathematical problem is of singular perturbation type characterized by a boundary layer region at the inner edge of the small hole. The analytical results are compared with numerical approximations, and formulas for the stress concentration factors at the hole are presented.1. Introduction. In the field of linear and nonlinear elasticity of thin structures, many important problems whose solutions are of considerable complexity can be analyzed by boundary layer methods. This involves a small parameter 8, which is usually related to the ratio of the shell thickness h to a shell length L such as the radius of a spherical shell. In the present paper, we discuss nonlinear shell problems where the small parameter e is the ratio of the radius of a small hole at the apex of a shell of revolution to the radius of the