Two series of tests were conducted to investigate the behavior of local thin jacketing for the retrofitting of reinforced concrete (RC) columns. In the first series, four full-scale RC columns with a height of 400 cm and a 30 cm square cross-section were tested under constant axial load and reversed cyclic lateral displacements. The heavily damaged columns were retrofitted with local thin jacketing. Self-compacting concrete (SCC) was used in the production of 7.5 cm thick, four-sided jacketing. The height of the jacketing was 100 cm for one specimen and 200 cm for all others. In the second series, the retrofitted columns were retested with the same axial load and displacement history. The effectiveness of local thin jacketing in the retrofitting of RC columns was examined with respect to lateral strength, stiffness, inelastic load-deformation behavior and energy dissipation.