Rocking timber frame is the main bearing system of Chinese traditional timber structure. The pseudo static test of full-scale single span wood frame model was carried out to explore its structural characteristics under different vertical loads. In the loading process, the column rocks and the deformation of the column frame layer is concentrated, and the test object can return to the initial position independently in the unloading stage. The test result shows that the hysteresis loops of each stage are long, narrow and overlap. The equivalent stiffness degrades significantly, and the equivalent viscous damping coefficient is low; The residual displacement is between 0.28mm and 2.53mm, and the two displacement recovery coefficients are greater than 87.1%. The two type of displacement recovery coefficient do not decrease significantly with the increase of control displacement, so the displacement recovery ability of wood frame is good; The initial stiffness tends to be stable when the control displacement exceeds the yield displacement; The deformation of column frame layer is 2.95 to 86.47 times that of dougong bucket layer. The concentration coefficient of interlayer displacement is between 1.22 and 2.03, which first increases and then decreases with the increase of control displacement. The results can not only provide a path for the experimental exploration of the rocking performance of traditional Chinese timer frame, but also provide a reference for the performance evaluation, reinforcement and repair of the same type of traditional Chinese timber frame.