Reinforced earth fills, ground and slopes counteract the destabilizing forces by mobilising tensile forces in the reinforcement. In most studies, the pull-out resistance due to only axial pull is considered in the analysis for stability. However, the kinematics of failure clearly establishes the reinforcement being displaced obliquely. In this paper, a new approach is presented for the analysis of sheet reinforcement subjected to transverse force. Assuming a simple Winkler type response for the ground and the reinforcement to be inextensible, the resistance to transverse force is estimated. The response to the applied force is shown to depend not only on the interface shear characteristics of the reinforcement but also on the deformational response of the ground. A relation is established between pull-out resistance and transverse free end displacement. A parametric study quantifies the contributions of depth of embedment, length and interface characteristics of the reinforcement, stiffness of the ground, etc. on the over all response. It is established that reinforcement in dense granular fills subjected to a transverse pull generates pull-out resistances larger than purely axial pull-out capacity in reinforced earth construction. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.