The aim was to analyze failure mechanism of electromagnetic relay caused by mechanical impact. The principle of electromagnetic relays was studied and the effect of mechanical impact on electromagnetic relays was analyzed in this paper. Based on the established magnetic circuit model, the relationship of the magnetic field strength, the electromagnetic attraction and the impact damage degree was studied. Then, the damage intensity of mechanical impact on magnetic circuit was decided. Afterwards, the structure of electromagnetic relays was improved, and the mechanical impact simulation was studied by ANSYS. The results show that the uncontrollability of electromagnetic relay is mainly caused by air gap, which is aroused by mechanical impact; in addition, the size of air gap is inversely proportional to electromagnetic attraction force. Moreover, the improved structure of relays can increase impact resistance and broaden the scope of engineering application of electromagnetic relay.