Abstract:A theoretical calculation for the transition energies of the ground state heavy hole excitons in ZnSe/ZnCdSe quantum wells(QWs) under hydrostatic pressure was performed using a variational technique.The finite barrier effect was included.The dependence of pressure on the parameters such as lattice constant,effective masses,dielectric constant and bulk modulus were discussed.It is shown that the pressure of bulk modulus plays an important role in determining the functional relation between the transitiion energy and pressure.Based on the calculation,it is estimated for the first time that the pressure derivative of the bulk modulus of Zn_(0.82)Cd_(0.17)Se is near unity.