SUMMARYShear wall systems are one of the most commonly used lateral‐load resisting systems in high‐rise buildings. The height–thickness ratio of traditional RC shear wall is more than 8. In order to study the seismic performance of a new type of shear wall structure (short‐limb shear wall structure) with height–thickness ratio of 5–8, L‐shaped cross‐section. A total of six shear wall specimens with 1/2‐scaled model were tested under the cyclic loading. The test parameters included: six specimens were loaded in the web plane; axial–load ratio and height‐thickness ratio were in the range of 0.1–0.4 and 5–8, respectively. The failure process, failure mode and deformation properties were studied. The test results are shown that: L‐shaped RC shear wall with a better deformation than the traditional shear wall, when the axial‐load ratio and height‐thickness ratio are within a certain range, the seismic performance will be able to play to the best. Specimens of the axial‐load ratio of 0.1, height‐thickness ratio of 6.5, they have the most excellent ductility and energy dissipation capacity. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.