INTRODUCTION: THERE ARE SEVERAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE BEHAVIOR AND RESPONSE OF A PILE UNDER LATERAL LOADS. THESE FACTORS CAN BE DIVIDED INTO TWO MAIN CATEGORIES: GEOMETRICAL FACTORS (E.G. DIMENSIONS OF THE PILE, SOIL, AND MESH SCHEME) AND MATERIAL PROPERTIES (E.G. SHEAR MODULUS, BULK MODULUS, SOIL ELASTICITY, SOIL DENSITY, AND SHEAR STRENGTH). STUDYING THE EFFECTS AND IMPORTANCE OF THESE FACTORS IN THE FINAL RESPONSE OF THE PILE (I.E. ULTIMATE FORCES AND DISPLACEMENTS) CAN HELP DESIGN ENGINEERS IN OPTIMIZATION OF THEIR DESIGNS. GIVEN THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SUBJECT AND THE POSSIBILITY OF USING NUMERICAL METHODS AND COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY TO EVALUATE THE BEHAVIOR OF PILES, THIS RESEARCH ATTEMPTS TO USE FINITE DIFFERENCE NUMERICAL METHOD AND CASE STUDY OF SINGLE PILES TO ANALYZE THEIR BEHAVIOR UNDER LATERAL LOADS AND DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT FACTORS IN THEIR RESPONSE. THE SOFTWARE USED IN THIS STUDY IS FLAC 3D VERSION 3.00-261.