A general expression for the acoustic radiation force on a small compressible sphere has been derived and expressed in terms of the time‐averaged densities Ti and Vi of kinetic and potential energies, respectively, in the incident sound field. The results have been applied to two focused beams: Gaussian beams and piston beams. For both cases, the analytical expressions of the radiation forces on a small compressible sphere placed on the axis of the beams are calculated. The pertinent applications in acoustic levitation and bubble dynamics are discussed.