Abstract: Numerical simulation is one common method to study hypervelocity impact problems. The traditional numerical methods based on grid, when simulating hypervelocity impact, cause large deformation of materials and abnormal change of the location nodes, resulting in that the element is distorted too seriously to compute. Especially, it is difficult to accurately describe material fracture and fragmentation problems caused by the hypervelocity impact. In order to overcome the deficiencies of the traditional grid algorithm for simulating hypervelocity impact, the 2-dimensional particle element method (2-DPEM) was used to simulate that a diameter of 5 mm spherical projectile with speed of 4~7 km/s impacted the target of 2 mm plate. The result of simulation is indicated that this method can overcome the problem of mesh distortion in the calculation process. The formation law of projectiles on thin target opening and the morphology of debris cloud simulated by the particle element method are consistent with the experimental results, confirming that the 2-DPEM can be used as a new method for simulating hypervelocity impact problems.