The uniaxial compressive strength(UCS) of rocks is the crucial parameter in the design stage of rock engineering. Direct determination of the parameter is expensive, time-consuming and troublesome. The most widely used indirect determination method to predict the UCS is the point load test. Based on detailed analysis of the available experimental data of igneous rock published on the international journal, the shortcomings of the existed empirical equations are as follows: (1) Most of the equations overestimate the UCS with increasing point load strength index , especially for the power function. (2) The lower limit boundary suggested by ISRM (American Society for testing and Materials) still overestimates the UCS. To assess the UCS of rock in a between way, a new empirical parabolic equation eq. (1) is suggested and the application scope is 0.0 MPa < <15.0 MPa.