To study the bearing characteristics and internal force distribution of single piles under the combined action of vertical load (V) and torque (T), a series of tests with combined load of the vertical force and the torque were carried out by means of the test device which has been designed by us independently. In order to facilitate the popularization and application of this research, a formula for calculating the bearing capacity of single piles under the combined action of the vertical force and the torque is obtained through fitting the test results. The results show that: Under the action of combined V-T load, the bearing capacity of single piles has reduced compared with that under a single load, in addition, the combined V-T effect is more significant when the first load component (the load which is applied earlier) is greater than 1/3 of the limit value; In the case that the first load component is a fixed value, the internal force of pile, which has been caused by the second load component (the load which is applied later), decreases with the increase of the depth, with a higher rate of decreasing; The internal force of pile caused by the first load component decreases with the increase of the second load component, however the amount of decrease is minor, so the influence on the first load effect, exerted by the second load effect, can be ignored; The bearing capacity of a single pile under the load path of V→T is higher than that under the load path of T→V, therefore, it should be ensure that the single piles is not subjected to a torque in advance so as to prevent against a drop in the ultimate bearing capacity of a single pile, which is caused by formation of the loading mode of T→V.