In this paper, the failure mode and damage of pagoda on Shanxi Jiwang Mountain under different earthquakes were calculated and analyzed by numerical method, which provides a basis for the seismic reinforcement of Jiwang pagoda. The plastic damage constitutive model was applied to describe the damage failure of masonry structures under earthquake. The displacement forms of the ancient pagoda under the action of seismic waves with different amplitude-modulation coefficients were given,the seismic responses values such as interlayer displacement and acceleration amplification factors were obtained, and the distribution rules of earthquake-induced damage were discussed. The results show that the overall stiffness distribution of the pagoda on Jiwang Mountain is uniform, and the acceleration amplification factor at the top pagoda is the greatest. Although the bottom wall of the pagoda is thicker than that on top, the tensile damage still initiated from the bottom under earthquake, and it expands upward with increase of seismic intensity. The stress contours show that the maximum principal tensile stress area at the bottom of the pagoda under earthquake expands obliquely, which easily leads to the formation of oblique cracks in the pagoda. The weak layers of the pagoda are the bottom three layers and the top layer.