The purpose of this study was to investigate the seismic behavior of hollow circular reinforced concrete bridge columns with confinement steel, and to develop improved seismic design criteria. Three hollow circular columns were tested under a constant axial load and a quasi-static, cyclically reversed horizontal load. The accuracy and objectivity of the assessment process can be enhanced by using a sophisticated nonlinear finite element analysis program. The numerical method used gives a realistic prediction of the seismic performance throughout the loading cycles for the several test specimens investigated. Based on the experimental and analytical results, design recommendations are presented to improve current practice in the design and construction of hollow circular reinforced concrete bridge columns.