A plate weakened by an oblique penetration of a circular cylindrical hole has been investigated. The stress concentration around the hole is determined by a finite-element method. The results are compared with experimental data and other analytical works. Parametric studies of effects of angle of inclination, plate thickness, and width are performed. The maximum stress concentration factor (SCF) obtained from the finite-element analysis is higher than experimental results, and this deviation increases with the increase of angle of skewness. The major reason for this difference is attributed to the shear-action between layers parallel to the plate surface which cannot be directly included in the two-dimensional elements. An empirical formula is derived which accounts for the shear-action and renders the finite-element predictions in line with experimentally observed data.