Summary: This paper presents a semi-analytical approach to solve the eigenproblem of a two-dimensional acoustic cavity with smoothly varying boundaries. The multipole expansion for the acoustic pressure is formulated in terms of Bessel and Hankel functions to satisfy the Helmholtz equation in the polar coordinate system. Rather than using the addition theorem, the multipole method and directional derivative are both combined to propose a generalized multipole method in which the acoustic pressure and its normal derivative with respect to non-local polar coordinates can be calculated. The boundary conditions are satisfied by uniformly collocating points on the boundaries. By truncating the multipole expansion, a finite linear algebraic system is acquired. The direct searching approach is applied to identify the natural frequencies using the singular value decomposition technique. Several numerical examples are presented, including those of an annulus cavity, a confocal elliptical annulus cavity and an arbitrarily shaped cavity with an inner elliptical boundary. The accuracy and numerical convergence of the proposed method are validated by comparison with results of the available analytical method and the commercial finite-element code ABAQUS. No spurious eigensolutions are found in the proposed formulation. Due to its semi-analytical character, excellent accuracy and fast rate of convergence are the main features of the proposed method.