This paper describes a prototype implementation of an engineering data access system for a finite element analysis program. The system incorporates a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) database as the backend to store selected analysis results; and the Internet is utilized as the communication channel to access the analysis results. The objective of using an engineering database is to provide the users the needed engineering information from readily accessible sources in a ready-to-use format for further manipulation. Three key issues regarding the engineering data access system are discussed, including data modeling, data representation, and data retrieval. The engineering data access system gives great flexibility and extendibility to the data management in finite element programs and can provide additional features to enhance the applicability of finite element analysis software.