Abstract: In view of the application background of the new generation communication satellite systems with high integration and high complexity, a system-level potential fault identification and analysis method based on the system theoretical accident model and process (STAMP) was proposed driven by the long-life and high reliability design requirements of the communication satellite platforms. The reliability design requirements for each subsystem of the satellite platform were put forward at the early stage of the overall design. A geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) communication satellite was taken as an example to introduce the method. The potentially unsafe control process was analyzed from top to bottom by constructing the system control logic architecture, the fault occurrence scenario was determined by checking each link of the control and feedback loop, and the constraint conditions of the control process were given to eliminate or reduce the possibility of fault. Finally the targeted reliability design requirements of the subsystem were formed.