Abstract: The strain gauge method was used to measure the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of graphite IG-11 under different compressive loads, and the relationship between compressive stresses and the CTE was analyzed. The experimental results show that compressive stresses increase the CTE parallel to the loading direction and decrease the CTE perpendicular to the loading direction, and the absolute changes increase with increasing applied load. In addition, the residual strain after unloading affects the CTE similarly.