The development of a tubular test specimen for the characterization of advanced composite-material lamina and laminate mechanical properties is presented. The specimen design and supporting analyses are given for a practical tubular specimen that minimizes end effects. Test results for simplified loading conditions are shown to be in good agreement with values obtained in other tests. Failure strains in laminates are higher than those obtained in comparable flat-coupon tests. The results obtained indicate that the specimen and apparatus are useful for obtaining response properties and failure values under general in-plane loading.