We consider a class of derivative-free descent methods for solving the second-order cone complementarity problem (SOCCP). The algorithm is based on the FischerBurmeister (FB) unconstrained minimization reformulation of the SOCCP, and utilizes a convex combination of the negative partial gradients of the FB merit function <sub>FB</sub> as the search direction. We establish the global convergence results of the algorithm under monotonicity and the uniform Jordan <i>P</i>-property, and show that under strong monotonicity the merit function value sequence generated converges at a linear rate to zero. Particularly, the rate of convergence is dependent on the structure of second-order cones. Numerical comparisons are also made with the limited BFGS method used by Chen and Tseng (<i>An unconstrained smooth minimization reformulation of the second-order cone complementarity problem</i>, Math. Program. 104(2005), pp