In this paper experiments and numerical simulations were undertaken to investigate the working mechanism of single-layer cable net supported glass curtain walls. We brought out the feasible ways in which glass panels work in coordination with the cable net, and verified by experiments. A parameter study was used to analyze the influence of factors, such as cable pretension, severity of loading, cable diameter, glass thickness and glass mesh size, on how glass panels worked in coordination with the cable net. The results indicate that the bending stiffness of the glass panel has little effect on the deflection of the structure, and the stiffness contribution of glass panels to the structure is substantially decided by the glass face membrane action. This action depends on the deflections of the glass panel and cable net.