The plastic load-bearing capacity of ductile composites such as metal matrix composites is studied with an insight into the microstructures. The macroscopic strength of a composite is obtained by combining the homogenization theory with static limit analysis, where the temperature parameter method is used to construct the self-equilibrium stress field. An interface failure model is proposed to account for the effects of the interface on the failure of composites.The static limit analysis with the finite-element method is then formulated as a constrained nonlinear programming problem, which is solved by the Sequential Quadratic Programming (SQP)method. Finally, the macroscopic transverse strength of perforated materials, the macroscopic transverse and off-axis strength of fiber-reinforced composites are obtained through numerical calculation. The computational results are in good agreement with the experimental data.