With the rapid development of building industrialization， prefabricated diaphragm walls have been increasingly applied in underground engineering. However， existing research on the shear resistance of different types of vertical joints remains inadequate. This study designed four model components incorporating rigid and flexible joints and conducted direct shear loading tests and analysis. The test results showed that under the same conditions， rigid joints generally had higher shear-bearing capacity than flexible joints， among which the steel pipe tie joint has the highest load-bearing capacity and the socket-type joint has the lowest； all four types of joints failed due to brittle shear failure modes. During failure， the anchorage structure of rigid joints affected the crack morphology with vertical cracks along the steel pipe wall in rigid joints. However， the flexible joints exhibited cracks crossing the joint section. Strain test data further verified the development characteristics of cracks under shear conditions. Meanwhile， it is found that the PCI formula provides a relatively accurate calculation of the shear-bearing capacity for rigid joints. The above research lays a foundation for the promotion and application of prefabricated diaphragm walls.