Abstract: To study the crashworthiness of concrete filled steel tubes (CFST) under lateral impact, the impact experiments were carried out on the drop hammer test machine. The travel time curve and lateral displacement of CFST were obtained and the damage patterns were analyzed. The results show that, when the thickness is constant, the history curve of impact takes on three phases: rapid loading, platform and unloading. With the increase of impact energy, the lateral displacement of the component is increased. When the CFST is subjected to lateral impact, the components present obviously yield state showing its good properties of impact resistance and ductility. This research has laid the foundation for further study.