Abstract: Double-deck reticulated shells are a main form of large space structures. One of the shells is the diagonal square pyramid reticulated shallow shell, whose its upper and lower faces bear most of the load but its core is comparatively flexible. According to its geometrical and mechanical characteristics, the diagonal square pyramid reticulated shallow shell is treated as a shallow sandwich shell on the basis of three basic assumptions. Its constitutive relations are analyzed from the point of view of energy and internal force equivalence. Basic equations of the geometrically nonlinear bending theory of the diagonal square pyramid reticulated shallow shell are established by means of the virtual work principle.