In the present study, the vibration analysis of a multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-reinforced composite shell is performed to investigate the enhancement in natural frequencies and damping of polymer composite structure. Initially, the material characterization of MWCNT-reinforced polymer resin was performed using scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis to identify the bonding behavior of MWCNT with resin, structure of MWCNTs, structural integrity, and chemical purity of MWCNT. The mechanical characterization of MWCNT-reinforced polymer composites was performed using universal testing machine to identify the enhancement in tensile properties of the composites with MWCNT reinforcement. Laminated composite shell samples were then fabricated with the different weight fraction of the MWCNT to study the effect of weight percentage of MWCNT on the composite shells on enhancement of natural frequencies and damping. Significant increase in tensile characteristics of the composites could also be identified with the addition of MWCNT in polymer composites. It was also observed that the fundamental natural frequency and damping factor of the hybrid composite could be increased by 20% and 7%, respectively, with 1 wt% reinforcement of MWCNT in the polymer resin. © The Author(s) 2019.