Quasi static test results of 71 rectangular hollow bridge piers were collected to study the deformation capacity and amount of confining reinforcement in the potential plastic hinge region of the bridge piers. The deformation capacity of the hollow bridge piers with different failure modes were analyzed, and current codes provisions for the amount of confining reinforcement in hollow bridge piers were evaluated. Then, main factors influencing the deformation capacity of the piers were discussed based on multiple linear regression analysis and correlation analysis. At last, design equations based on Caltrans code of required confining reinforcement for rectangular hollow bridge piers were proposed. It is found that both the Caltrans and ACI codes show great reliability for the flexural failure mode and deformation capacity of the hollow bridge piers while the Chinese JTG/T B02-01-2008 code is unsafe. Also, the deformation capacity of the hollow bridge piers increases with the increase of the transverse reinforcement, longitudinal reinforcement, and web width, and decreases with the increase of the axial load ratio.