Abstract: The current hot spot stress approach still has some limitations to the multiaxial fatigue strength assessment of complex welded joints.In this paper,an new stress estimation approach for the multiaxial fatigue strength assessment of complex welded joints is proposed,in which an equivalent hot spot stress is defined at a point(called Zero Point) in plate thickness direction where nonlinear distribution stress due to the notch effect of the weld is equal to zero.The proposed approach is based on that the nonlinear stress peak is not included in the hot spot stress and the nonlinear distribution stress is in self-equilibrium.First,influence factors and change laws of the Zero Point position were discussed,and a fitting equation for determining the Zero Point position was established.Then,published fatigue tests data and numerical stress results of some welded joints were used for comparison between the proposed equivalent hot spot stress approach and the current hot spot stress approach.The equivalent hot spot stress approach was verified to be consistent with the current hot spot stress approach and also have higher accuracy for considering the thickness effect on the fatigue strength to a certain extent.The merit of the proposed approach is that it can be used to estimate the multiaxial fatigue strength of welded joints through combining multiaxial fatigue theory.