Abstract: A reasonable damping model is essential for the accuracy of the structural seismic response analysis results. In this study, Rayleigh damping (a type of viscous damping) and the universal rate-dependent damping (a type of complex damping) are selected for the seismic response analysis of typical 8-storey and 4-storey reinforced concrete frames. The influence of different damping models on the structural deformation and on acceleration analysis results are compared, and their influences under different seismic intensities are investigated. The results show that: compared with the conventional empirically defined Rayleigh damping model, the storey deformation calculated by the universal rate-dependent damping model is similar to the results from Rayleigh damping, with an average difference of about 5%; however, the acceleration results and their short-period response spectra calculated by the universal rate-dependent damping model are significantly higher than those of the Rayleigh damping model, in which the acceleration is on average 10%-40% larger, and the short-period response spectra can be over 100% higher.