Abstract: To investigate the seismic performance of reinforced concrete frame joints under bidirectional horizontal loading, finite element models of the joints are developed and four bidirectional horizontal loading paths are selected for loading. The simulation results show that the bidirectional horizontal loading path negatively impacts the joints' seismic performance compared with the unidirectional loading path, particularly the square loading path. Based on the collected test data and simulation results of bi-directionally loaded joints, it is found that the shear capacity check of such joints trends to be unsafe under the seismic control conditions of the Chinese Code for design of concrete structures GB 50010−2010 (2015 edition). It is recommended that the joint hoop characteristic value for such joints under bidirectional loading should not be less than 0.1. When checking the shear capacity and the ratio of joint shear demand to axial compressive strength (shear-compression ratio), the constraint coefficient of transverse beams is recommended to be 1.25 if their confinement effect is considered, and 1.0 in other cases. The shear-compression ratio should be controlled within 0.375.