Presented in this paper is the rigorous analysis for the determination of effective flange width for composite beams. To make the solution suitable for routine design, formulas and tables for determining effective flange width for varying load types and geometric shapes are suggested. A variety of effective flange width problems for simple and continuous T- and I-beams can be solved by these tables and formulas. Although they are derived for T- and I-beams with symmetrical shapes, flanges and loads, they can be applied for non-symmetrical cases. Typical numerical examples are given to show how to use the formulas and tables; and their validity and accuracy are assessed by comparison with other known results that are based on the American Codes AISC, AASHTO and ACI.