This paper is aimed at investigating the influence of load-bearing style on the mechanical behavior of anisotropic engineering materials. The study on elastic constants and failure forms of materials will be presented under different loading condition. Firstly, the mechanical properties of unidirectional holey laminated materials are discussed based on the uniaxial tensile tests. The equivalent elastic modulus, Poisson’s ratio and shear modulus are obtained, and the pattern and mechanism of failure are analyzed. Then, the biaxial tensile tests are carried out for PVC orthotropic membrane materials with different stress ratio between the warp and weft direction. A comparison of limit strengths under biaxial loadings is given with that in uniaxial loading case. Finally, the dynamical behaviors of shape memory alloy (SMA), iron wire, and rubber composite as well as compound rubber are studied respectively by impact-tension tests. The failure forms, energy dissipation ratio and impact-tension toughness of materials are analyzed. It is shown that the mechanical properties and failure pattern of anisotropic materials have much to do with the load-bearing styles. It agrees well with actual properties of anisotropic material used in engineering structures.