In order to take into account the strong anisotropy and the tension-compression asymmetry of AZ31 sheet alloy, the Cazacu-Plunkett-Barlat yield criterion(Cazacu, 2006), CPB06, was adopted in the present material modeling. The variation of anisotropic coefficients which describe the yield surface evolution of AZ31 is optimized using an interpolation function based on specific calibration results. It generates continuous yield surfaces, which makes it possible to describe the different hardening rates in tension and compression as well as tension-compression asymmetry of magnesium alloys. The ability of the CPB06 yield criterion to predict experimental results was demonstrated and compared with that of the Hill(1948) yield criterion.