In this paper, transient response analysis of a circular sandwich plate with a functionally graded material (FGM) central disk and two piezoelectric layers is presented. Material properties of the FGM central disk for the circular sandwich plate are assumed to vary through the structural thickness according to a power law and the Poisson’s ratio is assumed as the same constant. Based on the first-order shear deformation theory and geometric nonlinear relationship, the nonlinear motion equations of the circular sandwich plate are formulated by using the Hamilton’s variational principle, then combining with the boundary and initial conditions, the whole problem is solved by adopting the finite difference method, Newmark method and iterative method. Numerical results are presented to illustrate that the volume fraction index, geometric parameters, mechanical and electrical loads have a great influence on transient response of the circular sandwich plate.