A calculation method for structural total damage by combining two damage components from two directions that are vertical to each other is proposed. Based on the damage index, a new seismic failure checking method for steel reinforced concrete (SRC) frame structures is proposed. In this method, damage limits are corresponding to 3 design requirements of Chinese codes, and this damage based method aims at failure status checking of SRC frame structures. 4 levels of earthquakes (3 of which are 0.5 intensity higher than a frequent earthquake, seismic precautionary intensity, and rarely earthquake in Chinese codes, another one is 1.5 intensity higher than rare earthquake) were applied on a 20-stories SRC frame. Compared failure statuses checking results by using drift based method (which is introduced by Chinese codes) and the new damage based method, some difference between results which are checked by Chinese codes' method and this damage based method respectively can be observed, and reasons for these difference are: negative effects which caused by cycle loads with same maximum deformations is ignored by Chinese codes' method but it is considered by damage based method, and the difference between deformation ability of each story is ignored by Chinese codes' method but it is considered by damage based method.