Propagation of a torsional wave in a doubly-layered half-space structure of an initially stressed heterogeneous viscoelastic layer sandwiched between a layer and a half-space of heterogeneous dry sandy media is studied. A closed form complex expression for the velocity profile is obtained under effective boundary conditions. The real part of the complex expression provides a dispersion equation, and the imaginary part yields a damping equation. The derived dispersion and damped equations are in well agreement with the classical Love wave condition. In addition, to study the effect of the dissipation factor, the attenuation coefficient, the sandy parameters, the initial stress, the heterogeneity parameters, and the thickness ratio parameter, some noteworthy contemplations are made by numerical calculations and graphical visuals. The results of this paper may present a deeper insight into the behaviour of propagation phenomena in heterogeneous viscoelastic and heterogeneous dry sandy materials that can provide a theoretical guide for the design and optimization in the field of earthquake engineering. The study also reveals that the presence of a damping part due to viscoelasticity affects the torsional wave propagation significantly. © 2017, Shanghai University and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany.