Abstract: The paper tensile experiment and FEA methods were used to study the damage propagation and failure properties of  stiffened composite panels with discrete-source damage. The research results indicate that a notched composite panel is suitable to simulate the discrete-source damage of the stiffened composite panels with discrete-source damage，and there is high strain concentration at the notch end. Break-through of the stringer made the load path changed. Based on the Hashin failure criterion，the FEA method with progressive failure procedure can be used to simulate the notched stiffened composite panels'damage progression and failure procedure effectively. The analytical results have a good correlation with the experimental data.