Eight small scale circular reinforced concrete columns were tested under cyclic lateral load with constant axial load. Test specimens were designed with 4.5 aspect ratio. The selected test variables are longitudinal steel ratio, transverse steel ratio, yielding strength of longitudinal steel and axial load ratio. The test results of columns with different longitudinal steel ratio, transverse steel ratio and axial load ratio showed different seismic performance such as equivalent damping ratio, residual displacement and effective stiffness. It was found that the column with low strength of longitudinal steel showed significantly reduced seismic performance, especially for equivalent damping ratio and residual displacement. The regulation of flexural over-strength is adopted by Korea Bridge Design Specifications (Limited state design, 2012). The test results are compared with nominal strength, result of nonlinear moment-curvature analysis and the design specifications such as AASHTO LRFD and Korea Bridge Design Specifications (Limited state design).