Abstract: The load distribution of building surface under blast wave has a direct impact on the failure mode and degree of building. In order to study the distribution of blast wave load of building surface under surface burst, firstly, the fine scaled experiments under laboratory environment were conducted. The blast wave pressure-time curves on the surface of building model under the situation of surface burst of spherical charge as well as the distribution law of blast wave characteristic parameters were obtained. Subsequently, the numerical simulation method of blast wave propagation was developed and verified by the experimental data. Through simulation, the blast load distribution and time-histories of blast pressure on the rear face of building were analyzed. Finally, the theoretical method based on blast wave time-history analysis and superposition rule was proposed, and the quantitative analysis model of the blast load distribution on the rear face of building which was verified by numerical results was obtained. The results show that the maximum blast load on the front face of building located at the bottom of the building, which the overall distribution was relatively uniform. The blast load on the rear face of building was mainly concentrated on the two sides of the top angle and the central axis, which was formed by the superposition of the diffraction waves from top and side edges, and the maximum overpressure occurred at the intersection position of different diffraction shock waves, which is affected by the building size and explosion distance. The research results can provide guidance for the damage assessment and design of building under explosion damage.