In this study seismic design procedure for buckling-restrained braced frame systems was proposed using hysteretic energy spectrum and accumulated ductility spectrum constructed from single degree of freedom systems. The hysteretic energy spectra and accumulated ductility spectra corresponding to target ductility ratio were constructed first. The cross-sectional area of braces required to meet a given target displacement was obtained by equating the hysteretic energy demand to the accumulated plastic energy dissipated by braces. Twenty earthquake records were utilized to construct the spectra and to verify the validity of the design procedure. According to analysis results of three- and eight-story buckling-restrained braced frame structures designed using the proposed method, the mean values for the top story displacement correspond well with the given performance target displacements. Also, the inter-story drifts turned out to be relatively uniform over the structure height, which is desirable because uniform inter-story drifts indicate uniform damage distribution. Therefore if was concluded that the proposed energy-based method could be a reliable alternative to conventional strength-based design procedure for structures with buckling-restrained braces.