Separate absorption grading charge multiplication avalanche photodiodes (SAGCM APDs) are widely accepted in photon starved optical communication systems due to the presence of large photocurrent gain. In this work, we present a detailed analysis of dark currents of planar-type SAGCM InGaAs-InP APDs with different thicknesses of multiplication layer. The effect of the diffusion process, the generation-recombination process, the tunneling process and the multiplication process on the total leakage current is discussed. A new empirical formula has been established to predict the optimal multiplication layer thickness of SAGCM APDs with dark current limited by generation-recombination at multiplication gain of 8.