Abstract: In order to study the mechanical behavior of reinforced concrete beams based on compressive force path method，six groups of specimens with shear-to-span ratios of 4. 0，3. 0，2. 5，2. 0，1. 5 and 1. 0，with two beams in each group，were designed． Through the monotonic loading test，the influence of different shear-to-span ratios on the mechanical behavior of reinforced concrete beams based on compressive force path method was investigated． By comparing the results with those of reinforced concrete beams under the Chinese code for design of concrete struc-tures，the mechanical properties such as failure process and failure mode，ultimate load，load-deflection curves and load-strain curves were analyzed． The results show that the stress transmitted along the compressive force path is the main factor affecting the shear capacity of the test beams． Under the six different shear-to-span ratios in the test，the shear capacity of the beam reinforced by the compressive force path method can be well guaranteed，and the ul-timate loads are not significantly different from those of the beams designed by the current code in China，but the amount of shear stirrup according to the compressive force path method can be desirably reduced． In addition，more stirrups can be saved with smaller shear-to-span ratio． The effectiveness and rationality of the compressive force path method was finally verified by experiments．

Key words: compressive force path method, shear capacity, experimental study, shear-to-span ratio, stirrup