Abstract: The beam-connected buckling-restrained steel plate shear wall (SPSW) have the advantages of high load-carrying capacity, strong energy dissipation capacity, good ductility etc. Moreover, the flexible arrangement in the structure can reduce the force on the frame columns and avoid the premature destruction of the frame columns. To determine the SPSW configuration in structures to fully exploit the aseismic performance, a seismic plastic design of SPSW-RC frame structures based on energy balance is proposed. Target drift ratio and global yield mechanism of the structure were set, and the design base shear was calculated based on the energy mechanism principle. The dual structural system was decomposed into a SPSW system and a RC frame system by using the shear ratio. Design lateral forces were calculated, and then the section design of SPSWs could be completed. According to the plastic internal force distribution mechanism and considering the post-yield behavior of SPSWs, the internal force demand of beams and columns could be calculated, and the section design of a RC frame could be completed. A 5-storey and a 10-storey structure were designed based on the plastic design method and the time history analysis method is used to analyze the structures. The yielding mechanism, inter-storey drift ratio, storey shear ratio and residual drift ratio of the two structures are compared and studied. The analytical results show that the proposed design method can achieve the desired seismic failure modes and meet the performance requirements.