The focal plane of wide-field space camera is always comprised of several staggered linear array detectors. In order to ensure the coverage area of the camera without gap, a calculation method of overlapping pixels for staggered linear array detectors is proposed. The earth imaging model of the camera is established by utilizing coordinate transformation, and the reason that leads to gaps is discussed. The relative image motion between the leading and trailing rows of detectors along the direction of the linear array is calculated, and the influences on relative image motion introduced by orbital displacement, attitude disturbance and terrain elevation are analyzed based on Monto-Carlo method. The minimum value of the relative image motion is the minimum overlapping pixels of the adjacent detectors, so the calculation model of overlapping pixels of the adjacent detectors is given. The method is used in the design of the focal plane of an infrared camera, and the overlapping pixels of the adjacent detectors are determined. The method is validated by the matching test results of the infrared remote sensing images.