Abstract: Most existing 2Dcentroid localization algorithms can not be efficiently applied in 3D wireless sensor networks (WSNs).To address this problem,this paper proposes a novel 3Dcentroid localization algorithm (Virtual centroid-3D).We combine 2Dcentroid localization algorithms and 3Dnetwork model,building upon which we calculate the tetrahedral that contains unknown nodes,and then introduce the concept of virtual nodes.In this way,given the same number of anchor nodes,the proposed method can provide more known nodes,as a result to improve node location accuracy.Our simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can significantly reduce positioning errors and can efficiently adapt to the uneven distribution in 3Dnetwork environment.