The behaviour of hollow structural steel (HSS) stub columns and beams filled with normal concrete and recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) under instantaneous loading was investigated experimentally. A total of 40 specimens, including 30 stub columns and 10 beams, were tested. The main parameters varied in the tests were: (1) recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) replacement ratio, from 0 to 50%, (2) sectional type, circular and square. The main objectives of these tests were threefold: first, to describe a series of tests on new composite columns; second, to analyze the influence of RCA replacement ratio on the compressive and flexural behaviour of recycled aggregate concrete filled steel tubes (RACFST), and finally, to compare the accuracy of the predicted ultimate strength, bending moment capacity and flexural stiffness of the composite specimens by using the recommendations of ACI318-99 (1999), AIJ (1997), AISC-LRFD (1999), BS5400 (1979), DBJ13-51-2003 (2003) and EC4 (1994).