Variable angle tow (VAT) composites have demonstrated better performance in buckling and post-buckling over straight fiber composites based on the mechanics of load redistribution from critical regions to supported edges. In this work, the dynamic instability behavior of a curved VAT composite panel subjected to periodic axial compression load is investigated. The governing energy functional of a curved symmetric VAT panel under external loading is derived using Donnell's shallow shell theory. Later, the discretized equations of motion are derived using the Rayleigh–Ritz method combined with the generalized differential integral quadrature method (GDIQM). Initially, the pre-buckling problem is solved by applying a uniform compression load to compute the stress resultant distribution which is used to evaluate the buckling load of the curved VAT panel. Subsequently, the dynamic/parametric instability region of a curved VAT panel subjected to periodic axial compression load is determined using Bolotin's first-order approximation. Then, the dynamic instability performance is evaluated for a curved VAT panel with linear fiber angle distribution and compared with straight fiber laminates. Finally, the influence of fiber angle orientation, the radius of curvature, aspect ratio and plate boundary conditions on the dynamic instability of VAT panel is presented. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd