•A multi-dimensional softened damage-plasticity model is developed for concrete.•The multi-layer shell element is used for numerical simulation of RC shear walls.•Quasi-Newton method with plasticity offset is adopted for the nonlinear solution. In this paper, a rational analysis procedure is presented to model the typical cyclic behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) shear wall structures. A recently developed multi-dimensional softened damage-plasticity damage model, where the compression-softening effect of reinforced concrete is considered, is adopted to describe the concrete material behaviors. The steel material behaviors follow a modified Menegotto-Pinto model that including strain hardening, Bauschinger effect and tension stiffening. The multi-layer shell element, which is capable of simulating the coupled in-plane/out-of-plane bending as well as in-plane direct shear and the coupled bending-shear behavior of RC shear walls, is used for the finite element modeling of the structures. To overcome the convergence issues in the analysis procedure, the quasi-Newton method is adopted to solve the nonlinear finite equations and the iterative secant stiffness with plasticity offset for cyclic loading is introduced. Finally, several numerical simulations of RC shear walls with different failure modes are given, illustrating that the developed numerical model can accurately predict the cyclic behavior of RC shear wall structures.