A new compact short stub‐loaded composite right/left‐handed (SSL‐CRLH) resonator is presented. The resonance properties of the proposed SSL‐CRLH resonator are deduced by odd‐ and even‐mode method. Based on SSL‐CRLH resonator, the designed bandpass filter not only realizes size miniaturization but also has a tunable center frequency and bandwidth by changing the length of the CRLH‐TL unit cell and the short stub, respectively. Finally, a compact diplexer using two size‐different SSL‐CRLH resonators with center frequencies at 2.6 and 2.9 GHz, respectively, has been fabricated and tested. Good agreement between simulated and measured results validates the design concept. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 59:1470–1474, 2017