Understanding the breakage feature of granules has been an important study focus throughout the world for many years. The breakage mode depends on the extent of plastic flow, which cannot be explained by elastic solutions. In the paper, a numerical approach to particle breakage considering elastic-plastic behaviour is achieved using Finite Element Method (FEM). The numerical approach is validated by simulating the Brazilian test with a three-dimensional disk specimen. Then the breakage processes of spherical particle under compression are numerically modeled. The influence of different material mechanical properties is investigated and the consequences with respect to breakage processes are discussed. The predicted trends are in good agreement with experimental observations. The approach offers an effective way to investigate the breakage behaviour of granule, which would be helpful to make clear the whole process of the breakage mechanism. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.