Abstract: A synthesis technique for the preliminary design of convergent Pierce electron guns is introduced briefly which has a series of advantages over the traditional methods. A thermal cathode electron gun used in the accelerator for radiation sterilization with the synthesis method is redesigned, and the validity of this method is proved. Based on the preliminary design parameters given by the synthesis method, a simulating calculation program, EGUN, was used in the numerical figure design of the focusing electrode and the anode. The final results can meet the engineering requirement as the current being 1A, the normalized emittance being less than 4 mm·mrad, and the final current density showing uniformity.