Objective To investigate the effect of afterload pressure on hemolytic blood damage in centrifugal pump. Methods The differences between velocity, pressure and surface shear force of the internal flow of Sarns2000 centrifugal pump with afterload pressure and those without afterload pressure were obtained by computational fluid dynamics(CFD). Results The velocity and flow of pump deceased when the rotational speed was 1 400 r/min with afterload pressure. The hemolytic blood damage increased with the pressure increase in the pump. However, the area whose surface shear force was greater than 150 Pa was less than 0.000032%, which had a good performance of hemolysis. Conclusion The afterload pressure would enhance the possibility of hemolysis in Sarns2000 centrifugal pump, while the surface shear force has a good performance of hemolysis.