The piston slap phenomenon occurs when the piston collides with the internal wall of the cylinder. Impact force caused by piston slap is one of the major mechanical noise sources in reciprocating compressors. In response to public demand, strict regulations are increasingly being imposed on the allowable noise level which is caused mostly by household electric appliances. In this paper, forces acting on piston by considering the dynamic behavior of suction and discharge valves are analytically calculated and the piston slap caused by the piston secondary motion is investigated by the finite element method.