It is known that the earth pressure acting on the cylindrical retaining wall in cohesionless soils is small than that acting on the retaining wall in plane strain condition due to three dimensional arching effect. In this study, the earth pressure equation considering the earth pressure decrease by horizontal and vertical arching effects, overburden, wall friction, and failure surface slope is proposed. For the purpose of verifying the applicability of proposed equation, model test is performed with apparatuses that can control wall displacement, wall friction, and wall shape ratio. Influence of each factor on the active earth pressure acting on the cylindrical retaining wall is analyzed according to the model test in constant wall displacement condition. The comparison of calculated results with measured values shows that the proposed equations satisfactorily predict the earth pressure distribution on the cylindrical retaining wall.