The vertical bearing characteristic and instability mode of all-vertical-piled wharf in offshore deep-water is studied with a structure-foundation 3D elastic-plastic finite element model.The results show that the vertical bearing characteristic and instability mode of all-vertical-piled wharf in offshore deep-water is closely related with the strength of the foundation soil.The vertical ultimate bearing capacity of this structure is decided by the strength of the foundation soil when there is soft soil foundation,while the vertical ultimate bearing capacity of the structure is conducted by the strength of the foundation soil and the pile when there is hard soil foundation.Therefore,the influence of the adverse factors to the vertical bearing characteristic and instability mode of the structure in the design should be taken into full account,such as the softening effect of soft soil which could reduce the strength of the foundation soil.