In this study, the numerical investigation on the traverse vibration responses of the non-uniform composite plates is performed using a finite element method. The First-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) is used to formulate the governing differential equations of motion of various non-uniform composite plates. The material damping effects are included in the formulation by including material properties as a complex elastic modulus in terms of storage modulus and loss modulus. The dynamic response of various non-uniform configurations under harmonic forced excitation is studied and the design guidelines are provided to identify the suitable non-uniform composite configurations. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.