Abstract: Self-piercing riveting,(SPR) has become an important alternative joining technique for the automotive applications of aluminum sheets.Most existing SPR machines use a dual-action hydraulic cylinder or an electrical motor to drive a rivet into the sheets.A new technique and the corresponding equipment was presented using gun-powder to drive the riveting process.Some main factors such as the dimensions of the die,the rigidity of the rivet were also researched.The tensile-shear,cross-tension,fatigue and impact performances of self-piercing riveted joints using the new device were compared with those of spot-welded joints on aluminum sheets.The experiment proved that the new SPR joints had provided a better mechanical properties than that of resistance spot welded joint.