In this study, experimental investigations carried out to analyze the influences of different in-plane temperature variations on buckling and free vibration responses of metal and fiber-reinforced laminated composite cylindrical panels are presented. Initially, critical buckling temperature is calculated then free vibration analysis is performed as a function of the buckling temperature to analyze the changes in the natural frequencies and mode shapes. Experimental results revealed that the thermal buckling strength of the panel is significantly influenced by the nature of the heating condition. Similarly, significant changes in free vibration mode shapes are observed with the rise in temperature and also according to the heating conditions. It is also observed that, with the increase in temperature, nodal and anti-nodal lines of free vibration modes shifting towards the heating source. The experimental results are compared with the numerical simulation for the studies on the isotropic cylindrical panel and both the results are in good agreement. © IMechE 2020.