© (2014) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland. In cylindrical traverse grinding of a long workpiece with high aspect ratio, the shape accuracy of a workpiece worsens due to its low stiffness. In this study, the grinding force was measured during grinding process to calculate the elastic deformation of a workpiece caused by the normal grinding force. By comparing calculated elastic deformation with the measured shape error of ground workpiece, the cause for the shape error in case of grinding a long workpiece was investigated experimentally. From experimental results, it is confirmed that the main factor of the shape error of the long workpiece is its elastic deformation during grinding process.