Abstract: The bearing performance of the steel sleeve concrete pressure pipe (SSCP) under internal water pressure was analyzed, and a full-process computational model was proposed. In the elastic stage, radial and hoop stresses in each layer were calculated based on the theory of uniform pressure on a ring or cylinder. After cracking of the concrete core, the concrete was treated as an "orthotropic material", which loses its tensile capacity in the hoop direction but can still transmit internal water pressure radially. Accordingly, an orthotropic model for the concrete was derived and corresponding calculation formulas were proposed. A method for calculating the structural stress in each layer after concrete cracking was also presented. The model was applied to an SSCP with an inner diameter of 3, 100 mm, and the influence of the thickness of the inner and outer steel cylinders on the cracking pressure and ultimate internal water pressure of the SSCP was further investigated. The results indicate that: ① Under internal water pressure, the concrete core reaches its tensile strength and cracks first. As internal water pressure increases, the inner steel cylinder ultimately yields first, leading to overall failure of the pipe. ② With the inner and outer diameters of the pipe holding constant, increasing the thickness of the inner steel cylinder is more effective in improving the internal water pressure carrying capacity.