The tube mill is essentially a piece of grinding equipment used in the chemical industries to achieve reduction of particle size. In this article a mill of this type has been analysed for static loading by use of the classical thin-shell theories of Donnell, Sanders, Novozhilov, and Flügge and the results have been compared with each other. Experimental work has been carried out to check the theoretical results and also to determine the effect of dynamic loads. It is observed that for the peripheral velocities encountered in the normal operation of a tube mill the dynamic effects are not very pronounced. Hence the design of a tube mill based on static analysis is quite adequate. © 1973, Institution of Mechanical Engineers. All rights reserved.