Abstract Many skyscrapers have used the Reinforced Concrete (RC) filled Composite Plate Shear Walls (CPSW). Based on in-plane shear tests on six shear-critical CPSW specimens and a RC shear wall specimen, the behavior of CPSW systems with stud or tie bar connectors, various connector spacings, and various axial compression ratios were reported. In the test program, the Concrete Filled Steel Tubes (CFSTs) are applied for each specimen as boundary elements to simulate the engineering design of CPSW in skyscrapers. This paper presents the test observations, the ultimate capacity, the lateral stiffness, the ductility and the energy dissipation results. Based on the test results, the CPSW specimens with CFST boundary element failed in shear compression failure and the reference RC shear wall failed in shear tension failure. The weld fracture was generally found at boundary element (CFST) in the descending branch. Compared to the RC shear wall, the shear capacity of the CPSW systems were enhanced by 104–129%. The difference between CPSW systems with stud connectors and those with tie bars was insignificant in terms of ultimate capacity. Subsequently, a new database including 38 test specimens was established from the aforementioned test program and available literatures. The database results indicate the compressive capacity of infilled concrete is the dominating factor influencing the shear capacity, instead of the yield capacity of steel. In addition, a design formula for the in-plane ultimate capacity of shear-critical CPSW systems is proposed. Comparisons demonstrated that the proposed model was consistent and exhibited a reasonable level of consistency.