Abstract:Recently, chaotic behavior of complex network becomes a hot topic of nonlinear dynamical system. The emergence and parameter dependence of the chaotic behaviors are theoretical basis of the chaotic control of complex network. In this paper, we consider a new type of Duffing-WS type small world network. Firstly, we derive an expression for the maximum Lyapunov index by using the variational method. Then we investigate the emergence of chaos by using the Lyapunov index as criterion. Finally, the dependence of the chaotic behaviors on the system parameters is discussed. It is shown that this network processes much more complicated chaotic behaviors than the classic Duffing equation.