Abstract: Objective To study neck injuries caused by rear impact at different speeds, a fine finite element model of head and neck based on human anatomical structure was established. Methods The model was based on CT scan images of the head and neck of the human body. The Mimics software was used to reconstruct the three-dimensional bone, and the three-dimensional solid ligament, small joints and other tissues of the neck were improved and meshed by HyperMesh. The resulting models include: the head, 8 vertebrae (C1-T1), 6 intervertebral discs (including annulus, nucleus pulposus and upper and lower cartilage endplates), facet joints (including cartilage and joint capsule ligaments), ligaments, muscles, etc. Finally, the model verification and post-collision calculation were completed in the finite element post-processing software. Results The simulation results of axial impact, front and back flexion and lateral flexion of the model were compared with the experimental data to verify the effectiveness of the model. Then rear collision simulation with speeds of 20, 40, 60 and 80 km/h was carried out. At the speed of 20 km/h, there was no damage to the neck. At the speed of 40, 60 and 80 km/h, the ligament was the first to be damaged. As the speed increased, the stress on the tissues of the neck increased continuously. At the speed of 80 km/h, the maximum stresses of the dense bone, cancellous bone and annulus of the cervical vertebra were 226.4, 11.5, and 162.8 MPa, respectively. When the ligament strain reached the limit, tearing began to occur. Conclusions The finite element model of head and neck established in this paper has high bionics and effectiveness, and can be used for the study of neck injury analysis in traffic accidents, which is helpful for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cervical spine injury to a certain extent.