Abstract Researching the aerodynamic characteristic of projectile at high angle of attack could serve to determine the launching condition and the design method of aerodynamic configuration. The aerodynamic coefficients of a kind of spin-stabilized projectile were calculated and analyzed by CFD. An efficient and precise method of calculating the pitching damping moment was obtained to research the aerodynamic coupling characteristic of spinning motion and pitching motion. The results showed that the aerodynamic coefficients of projectile at high angle of attack was nonlinear, the pitching damping moment was proportional to the pitching angular velocity, magnus force had hysteresis characteristic which was affected by pitching amplitude and frequency.