A new approach based on the category of upper bound theorem of limit analysis is presented in this study to consider the seismic stability of gravity retaining walls. The retaining wall and the backfill soil were taken as a whole system. For a translational failure mechanism assumed, formulas are provided to calculate directly the yield acceleration and the inclination of the failure surface. An example is shown to illustrate the method. Comparisons are made with limit equilibrium method, and the results are found consistent. Based on a limited parametric study, it is shown that the wall roughness has remarkable influence on the yield acceleration. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.