A compact planar bandpass filter is presented in this letter, which is implemented by the combination of three different electromagnetic structures, saying, substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW), square complementary split-ring resonators (CSRRs) and dumbbells slot. The resonator is formed by a SIW cavity loaded with some complementary split-ring resonators (CSRRs) on its top metal plane, causing a stopband with a very sharp rejection. Meanwhile, several dumbbells are etched on the bottom plane of SIW just below each CSRR to enhance the coupling. Double-sided parallel strip line (DSPSL) is also used to excite the SIW and guarantee good propagation between these two different structures. An X-band prototype is designed and fabricated for demonstration, good agreement is observed between simulation and measurement, indicating a very wide rejection band ranging from 11 GHz to 23 GHz and quite strong suppression to spurious modes. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 53: 1483-1487, 2011; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.26079