Axial compression tests of 17 CFRP-PE-stainless steel-reinforced concrete （CPSSRC） short columns and 8 counterparts were carried out to investigate the influences of the stainless steel type， hoop spacing， CFRP thickness， and PE thickness on the failure mode， load versus strain curve， ultimate strain， ultimate strength and ductility of the CPSSRC short column. The experimental results showed that the PE cushion between CFRP and concrete improved the ductility of the CPSSRC column and reduced its ultimate strength. Increasing the CFRP thickness improved the ultimate strength and ultimate strain of the CPSSRC short column， but increased the brittleness. Reducing hoop spacing or increasing steel strength improved the ultimate strength， peak strain， and ductility of the column. A finite element （FE） model was established. The FE analysis showed that increasing the thickness-to-diameter ratio of the PE cushion significantly improved the deformation capacity and ductility of the CPSSRC short column and reduced the effect of CFRP on its ultimate strength. Increasing the hoop ratio， stainless steel strength， CFRP tensile strength， and CFRP thickness improved the ultimate strain and ultimate strength of the CPSSRC short column. Increasing the concrete strength improved the ultimate strength of the CPSSRC short column but reduced its ultimate strain. Finally， a ductile design method， ultimate strength model， and ultimate strain model for the CPSSRC short column were proposed.