The shear failure modes of reinforced concrete members using high-strength materials (high-strength concrete and high-strength steel) are different to those of reinforced concrete members using normal-strength materials. The reinforced concrete members using high-strength materials are inclined to fail due to concrete crushing before the shear reinforcing bar reaches its yield strength. This paper presents an evaluation equation to calculate the maximum shear reinforcement ratio based on the material stresses and strains when the reinforced concrete members fail in shear. The maximum shear reinforcement ratio calculated by the proposed equation increases as the compressive strength of concrete increases. Test results of 97 reinforced concrete members reported in the technical literatures are used to check the validity of the proposed equation. The comparison between the test results and the ratio calculated using the proposed equation indicated that the shear failure modes depended on the interaction between the amount of shear reinforcement and the compressive strength of concrete.