This article is the result of an investigation on the influence of a Pasternak elastic foundation on the stability of exponentially graded (EG) cylindrical shells under hydrostatic pressure, based on the first-order shear deformation theory (FOSDT) considering the shear stresses. The shear stresses shape function is distributed parabolic manner through the shell thickness. The governing equations of EG orthotropic cylindrical shells resting on the Pasternak elastic foundation on the basis of FOSDT are derived in the framework of Donnell-type shell theory. The novelty of present work is to achieve closed-form solutions for critical hydrostatic pressures of EG orthotropic cylindrical shells resting on Pasternak elastic foundation based on FOSDT. The expressions for critical hydrostatic pressures of EG orthotropic cylindrical shells with and without an elastic foundation based on CST are obtained, in special cases. Finally, the effects of Pasternak foundation, shear stresses, orthotropy and heterogeneity on critical hydrostatic pressures, based on FOSDT are investigated.