This paper presents an experimental investigation of the compression behaviour of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP) tubes with different off-axis ply orientations. A series of compression tests with effective end-reinforcement were conducted on [0₄/±theta] CFRP tubes, with equal to either 0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, or 90°. Various failure progressions and fracture morphologies were measured using a high-speed camera and a scanning electron microscope. The failure modes and mechanisms of CFRP tubes with different stacking sequences were analysed in detail. The results indicate that the off-axis ply orientation greatly influences the compression behaviour. The adopted end-reinforcement ensures that nearly all of the CFRP tubes fail within the gauge length. When < 45°, the tubes exhibit various failure modes, and the scatter of strength is large. However, when ≥ 45°, the sole failure mode is a shear fracture of the inner 0° layers, and their scatter of strength is minor. A new shear failure mechanism is instrumented: the shear fracture direction changes from inclining along the circumferential direction to inclining along the radial direction when varies from 45° to 90°. The failure strength and off-axis ply orientation display a complex non-linear relationship. When = 60°, the compression strength becomes maximum at an average value of 602 MPa, and the scatter of strength is 2.71%.