Interaction curves are presented for plastic beams subject to combined shear and bending. A general formula is obtained and specific curves are drawn for rectangular and I-sections. A simply supported beam with a concentrated load is considered as an example. The results are compared with those of simple beam theory and with available plane-stress solutions. It is concluded that the elementary theory is adequate for height-to-length ratios of less than 0.1, while the present theory is useful in the range from 0.1 to 1.0.