A microstrip bandpass filter (BPF) based on centre‐coupled cylindrical microstrip ring resonator (MRR) for wireless application in ISM frequency band of applications is presented. The proposed is a combination of two identical bended half‐wavelength (λ/2) MRR, and centre‐coupled by an end‐coupled transmission feed line. The equivalent circuits of the MRR, the end‐coupled feed, and the effects of various spacing between them were investigated based on the even‐ and odd‐mode theory. The mechanism of resonant mode splitting is investigated with the possibility of enhancing the coupling effect, while suppressing spurious resonances in order to achieve sharp rejection skirts. Findings indicates that the proposed equivalent circuit are influenced by capacitances due to resonator – transmission feed line gap (d), the gap between each ring (g), the feed line gap (i), the radius of MRR (r), and the resonator head (m). The operation mechanism of the structure was investigated first theoretically to the intent of design a circuit model, then using numerical 3D EM based on finite integration technique (FIT) method, and finally, through 2D equivalent circuit modeller. The derived equivalent circuit model have been validated both by analytical formulae and numerical simulations. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:911–918, 2016