Abstract: Plastic limit load of viscoplastic thick-walled cylinder and spherical shell subjected to internal pressure is investigated analytically using a strain gradient plasticity theory. As a result, the current solutions can capture the size effect at the micron scale. Numerical results show that the smaller the inner radius of the cylinder or spherical shell, the more significant the scale effects. Results also show that the size effect is more evident with increasing strain or strain-rate sensitivity index. The classical plastic-based solutions of the same problems are shown to be a special case of the present solution.