Abstract: The parametric design is extensively used in the field of architecture, especially for the structure design of complex limit-exceed projects.Structure engineers should closely cooperate with architects to accomplish the structural modeling analysis with the aid of parameterized tools. The parametric platform based on Rhino and Grasshopper, which is the dominant parameterized platform currently, not only expends the imagination for architectural design, but also extends the ideas of solving the problem for structure design. This paper introduces the concept and development of parametric design, and shows its advantages in programming, visuality and secondary development scalability. The basic procedure of parametric modeling based on Grasshopper is described with an example, which shows its merits in multi scheme design study and dealing with changes. Meanwhile, the application cases of Grasshopper in super high-rise, long-span and nonlinear shell complex structures are also analyzed, which provides new ideas for structural engineers to solve complex problems.