Objective To investigate the effects of the thickness of the adhesives(3 M ESPE RelyX ARC)on the internal stress distribution of the IPS Empress Ⅱ full-ceramic crowns by using Finite Element Analysis(FEA).Method A dummy Empress Ⅱ ceramic crown restoration of the mandible right first molar was prepared according to standard dental process.Followed by micro-CT scanning,four 3D numerical models with cement thickness 60,90,120 and 150 μm were established respectively.The models were subjected to four loading conditions and stresses in veneer and core layers were presented.Result Numerical results indicate that when adhesive thickness increases from 60 μm to 90 μm,the maximum principal stress either in veneer or core decreases.However,when thickness increases to 150 μm,stress variation trends differ from adhesives.Conclusions The normal stresses in adhesives remain a low level when the thickness varies from 90 μm to 120 μm,while the shear stress is less sensitive to the thickness when it exceeds 90 μm.There is an optimal thickness which can reduce the tensile stress in the core and veneer.Attention should be paid to the shear strength of the adhesives since the shear stress could cause failure in the adhesive layer.