Thin-walled bars currently applied in metal construction engineering belong to a group of members, the cross-section resistance of which is affected by the phenomena of local or distortional stability loss. This results from the fact that the cross-section of such a bar consists of slender-plate elements. The study presents the method of calculating the resistance of the cross-section susceptible to local buckling which is based on the loss of stability of the weakest plate (wall). The "Critical Plate" (CP) was identified by comparing critical stress in cross-section component plates under a given stress condition. Then, the CP showing the lowest critical stress was modelled, depending on boundary conditions, as an internal or cantilever element elastically restrained in the restraining plate (RP). Longitudinal stress distribution was accounted for by means of a constant, linear or non-linear (acc. the second degree parabola) function. For the critical buckling stress, as calculated above, the local critical resistance of the cross-section was determined, which sets a limit on the validity of the Vlasov theory. In order to determine the design ultimate resistance of the cross-section, the effective width theory was applied, while taking into consideration the assumptions specified in the study. The application of the Critical Plate Method (CPM) was presented in the examples. Analytical calculation results were compared with selected experimental findings. lt was demonstrated that taking into consideration the CP elastic restraint and longitudinal stress variation results in a more accurate representation of thin-walled element behaviour in the engineering computational model