By lateral cyclic loading test, hysteretic behavior of seven circular RC columns confined by lateral pre-stress under high axial compression was studied. Using theoretical analysis and statistic regression analysis, the formula of calculated flexural capacity for columns is proposed. The three line restoring force model of circular RC columns under high axial compression confined by pre-stressed CFRP belts which is capable of considering the pre-stress of CFRP belts and axial load ratio is set up. Test results show that the hysteretic behavior of the columns with high axial load ratio is improved significantly after confined by pre-stressed CFRP belts. The diagonal shear cracks of columns can be effectively confined with the active lateral stress provided by pre-stressed CFRP belts, and the failure mechanism of the columns with high axial load ratio may be changed from shear to flexure with satisfactory ductility. The result of the recommended model shows good agreement with the test result.