Abstract: Eight square high strength concrete-filled steel tubular(HCFT) columns were tested under cyclic lateral load. The failure characteristics, hysteretic behavior, and deformability are investigated considering the variation of axial load ratio, steel ratio and slenderness ratio of the specimens. Experimental results show that 1) The failure modes of the column are mainly bucking of the steel tube and crash of core concrete at the base of the specimens; 2) The hysteretic curves of square HCFT column are not significantly pinched. The ductility coefficient is from 3.05 to 4.07, satisfying the requirements of seismic design; 3) Results indicate that square HCFT columns have excellent earthquake resistant capacities.