Abstract: To overcome the limitation of friction pendulum bearings (FPB) applied to free-standing objects, a combined friction pendulum seismic isolator (CFPSI) is proposed. Its basic structure and working mechanism are first introduced, and the motion equation of the analysis model established is derived. A prototype is produced and the tests of hysteresis performance and earthquake simulation are carried out. The correctness of the analysis model and the feasibility of the scheme are verified by comparing the experimental and theoretical results. The isolation effectiveness of CFPSI and FPB under different earthquake intensities is compared using numerical analysis method. The results show that the isolator has the characteristics of simple structure, easy processing, small sliding acceleration threshold, variable stiffness and variable damping. Whether it is about hysteresis performance curve or seismic response curve, the theoretical date is in good agreement with the test date, which proves that the design scheme of CFPSI is reasonable and the dynamic analysis model is accurate. In addition to good isolation effect, CFPSI also shows stronger adaptability compared with FPB.