The dynamic characteristics and failure modes of steel reinforced concrete (SRC) columns subjected to blast loading are complicated because of the transient stress wave in the SRC columns and the interaction between steel and concrete. This paper presents a numerical simulation of the response of SRC columns subjected to blast loading using hydrocode LS-DYNA. In the numerical model, a sophisticate concrete material model (the Concrete Damage Model) is employed with consideration of the strain rate effect and the damage accumulation. An erosion technique is adopted to model the spalling process of concrete. The possible failure modes of SRC columns are evaluated. It is observed that the failure of SRC columns subjected to blast load can generally be classified into three modes, namely, a direct failure in concrete body due to the stress wave, a transverse shear failure near the support sections due to the high shear force, and a flexural failure pertaining to large local and global deformation of the reinforcing steel. The dynamic characteristics and failure modes of steel reinforced concrete (SRC) columns subjected to blast loading are complicated because of the transient stress wave in the SRC columns and the interaction between steel and concrete. This paper presents a numerical simulation of the response of SRC columns An erosion technique is adopted to model the spalling process of concrete. The possible failure modes of SRC columns are evaluated. It is observed that the failure of SRC columns subjected to blast load can generally be classified into three modes, namely, a direct failure in concrete body due to the stress wave, a transverse shear failure near the support sections due to the high shear force, and a flexural failure pertaining to large local and global defo rmation of the reinforcing steel.