Abstract: Constructional details have a great effect on the performance of steel plate shear wall structures and may also alter the failure modes of the structural members and improve their ductility and energy-dissipating capacity. To comprehensively compare the hysteretic behavior of steel plate shear walls with different details, an elaborate non-linear finite element model is established in ABAQUS. Eight steel shear wall models with different constructional details are established and their hysteretic behavior is compared and discussed in depth in terms of load carrying capacity, hysteretic behavior, degraded characteristics, fracture index, failure modes and energy-dissipating capacity. The ductility, out-of-plane deformation and the effect of tension field on column are also analysed, which could provide references for future engineering applications. The results show that variations in structural constructional details can improve the seismic performance of the structural members effectively; the ductility, failure modes, specified building requirements, and economic indicators should be taken into account comprehensively in the selection of appropriate constructional details of steel plate shear walls; for the material particularity, the low yield point steel plate shear wall has higher load efficiency, larger energy dissipation capacity and better ductility. However, some measures are needed to increase the lateral stiffness.