A theoretic model is proposed based on the mechanism of the buckling failure of the stitched composite laminates containing delaminations. The buckling strength of the stitched composite laminates under the in-plane compressive load is predicted. The critical percentage elongation of the stitching thread is taken into account as a control parameter of the buckling failure. The energy method is used to calculate the buckling strength of the stitched composite laminates, and the minimal potential energy is used to calculate that of the unstitched composite laminates. The result shows that the buckling strength of the stitched composite laminates is larger than that of the unstitched composite laminates. The effects of stitching technical parameters such as the stitch thread diameter, stitch step and stitch space on the stitched composite laminates are also analyzed.