Abstract: Using the experimental data in literature, the penetration resistances R_t and R_c of ceramic materials are calculated accurately based on the Tate's model and the hydrodynamic model of spherical cavity expansion theory separately. The results show that R_t of alumina ceramic decreases slightly with the increased impact velocity and R_t of aluminum nitride ceramic is approximately a constant value from 1 500 m/s to 3 500 m/s, while R_t of aluminum nitride ceramic increases with the increased impact velocity from 3 600 m/s to 4 500 m/s for the penetration velocity above the limiting velocity for the growth of cracks. R_c of two kinds ceramic decrease with the increased impact velocity and approximate to zero at hydrodynamics limiting value. It can be concluded that the hydrodynamic model of spherical cavity expansion cannot be applied in the hypervelocity penetrating condition. The comparisons between the computational penetration depths acquired with the average resistance and the experimental results show that it has satisfactory accuracy with the average resistance.