Due to architectural, mechanical and even structural considerations, in some cases there is need to create some openings in the composite steel shear walls. Presence of the openings can considerably affect the wall behavior. Therefore, in this study, the effects of the opening on the behavior of composite steel shear walls are investigated. For this purpose, first an experimental specimen without opening is developed and tested. The outcomes of the experimental study are verified by existing data Then three series of the CSPSW specimens -four specimens in each series- with opening are built and tested. Accuracy and precision of these experimental outcomes is verified by twelve numerical models which are developed using ABAQUS software. Therefore, general behavior of the CSPSWs with opening are investigated according to the attained outcomes from numerical and experimental tests. In addition, some methods are proposed to reduce the negative effects of the opening on the behavior of CSPSW. Then a parametric study is performed to evaluate effects of different parameters namely concrete cover thickness, steel plate thickness, thickness of the strengthening plate installed around the opening and bolt spacing on general behavior of the CSPSW. In addition to study the effects of opening in behavior of CSPSW, in this paper a thorough investigation about the influence of different parameters on drift of the system is performed .Finally, a formula is proposed based on the developed numerical models to compute lateral displacements of the composite shear walls with openings. This formula can be utilized for deriving an intensification factor which can be applied to calculate displacement of the composite shear wall with openings from the responses of a wall without openings.

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