In seismic design of tapered high pier, the analysis of natural vibration frequency is of great importance. According to the engineering features of tapered high pier in mountainous area, a vibration calculation model was set up considering the tapered pier characteristics and pile-soil interaction. Based on Southwell frequency composition theory, it consists of elastic deformation of bridge pier and the rigid deformation of group piles, which are respectively solved by the finite-element method and energy method, and then the natural frequency is derived. The comparison between the measured and calculated results shows that the calculation errors with and without considering pile-soil interaction are 4.9% and 14.7%, respectively. Additionally, the main parameters (pier height, section variation coefficient and lateral foundation horizontal proportional coefficient) affecting natural frequency were investigated. The result shows that natural frequency ascends with the increase of the lateral foundation horizontal proportional coefficient; and it is quite necessary to consider the pile-soil interaction in natural frequency calculation of tapered high pier.