In order to calculate the rolling force in the heavy cylinder rolling, the non-uniform stress distribution is taken into account, and a rolling force model based on slab method is established. According to the deformation geometric relationship of heavy cylinder and rolls in the rolling process, the precise length of contact arc is obtained; then according to the asymmetric rolling conditions, the non-uniform normal stress and shear stress distribution are considered, the equilibrium differential equations of deformation zones (forward slip zone, cross shear zone and backward slip zone) are established; Moreover the rolling permeability condition is obtained based on finite element method(FEM) software Marc; The rolling forces of some 3 700 mm heavy cylinder rolling mill are calculated, the predicted results are in good agreement with the measured values, which can satisfy the requirement of industrial application. The results also show that when the rolling reduction Δh>20 mm, and the velocity ratio of up roll and down roll 1