The stresses and torque transmission capabilities of adhesively bonded circular, hexagonal and elliptical lap joints were analyzed by the finite element and compared with the experimental results. The adherends of the joints were composed of carbon fiber/epoxy composite shafts and steel shafts. In calculating the torque transmission capabilities, the linear laminate properties of the composite material and the nonlinear shear properties of the adhesive were used. Using this method, the torque transmission capabilities of adhesively bonded lap joints could be obtained within 10% error compared to the experimental results except some single lap joints. The experiments revealed that the hexagonal joint had the best torque transmission capability from the single lap joints and the double lap joint had better torque transmission than the single lap joint.