A new method, i.e. the iterative method in functional theory, was introduced to solve analytically the nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann （PB） equation under general potential ψ condition for the electric double layer of a charged cylindrical colloid particle in a symmetrical electrolyte solution. The iterative solutions of ψ are expressed as functions of the distance from the axis of the particle with solution parameters： the concentration of ions c, the aggregation number of ions in a unit length m, the dielectric constant e, the system temperature T and so on. The relative errors show that generally only the first and the second iterative solutions can give accuracy higher than 97%. From the second iterative solution the radius and the surface potential of a cylinder have been defined and the corresponding values have been estimated with the solution parameters, Furthermore, the charge density, the activity coefficient of ions and the osmotic coefficient of solvent were also discussed,
With the help of the method of separation of variables and the Debye-Hüchel approximation, the Poisson-Boltzmann equation that describes the distribution of the potential in the electrical double layer of a cylindrical particle with a limited length has been firstly solved under a very low potential condition. Then with the help of the functional analysis theory this equation has been further analytically solved under general potential conditions and consequently, the corresponding surface charge densities have been obtained. Both the potential and the surface charge densities cointide with those results obtained from the Debye-Hüchel approximation when the very low potential of zeψ〈〈kT is introduced.
