The failure behavior and mechanism of fracturing in the gypsum specimens containing vertical notches under uniaxial compression was investigated in this study. The experimental tests and their corresponding numerical simulations were accomplished to explain the effects of vertical notches (edge cracks). Effects of the number of vertical joints on the mechanical behavior of gypsum specimens containing vertical notches were studied experimentally and numerically using some specimens of 5.4 cm?10.8cm?5.4 cm in dimensions. Then, the two-dimensional particle flow code (PFC2D) was used to numerically simulate the gypsum specimens under uniaxial compressive loading. Both, the laboratory experiments and numerical models worked out on the gypsum specimens with edge cracks (vertical notches) explained the effects of the vertical notches and their number on the failure mechanism and fracturing pattern of the specimens. These studies elucidated the dominant tensile failure behavior of the specimens with cracks under the uniaxial compressive loading condition. They also showed the great dependence of fracture pattern and failure stresses on the number of the vertical notches. The experimental and numerical results are also compared with one another correspondingly and it has been concluded that these two sets of results are very similar and there is little difference in between them.