The dynamic buckling of circular cylindrical shells subjected to axial impact by a rigid body is discussed in this paper in accordance with the energy law. Accounting for the propagation of stress wave, the power series solution of this problem has been obtained by the power series approach. The critical buckling criterion of this problem is proposed by analyzing the characteristics of solution. The relationship between critical velocity and impacting mass, as well as other conclusions, are obtained by using theoretical analysis and numerical computation.