AbstractA finite element model for the inverse analysis of large‐displacement beams in the elastic range is presented. The model permits determining the initial shape of a beam such that it attains the given design shape under the effect of service loads. This formulation has immediate applications in various fields such as compliant mechanism design where flexible links can be modeled as large‐displacement beams. Numerical tests for validation purposes are given, together with two design applications of flexible mechanisms with distributed compliance: a flexible gripper and a flexible S‐type clutch. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.