A thermal postbuckling analysis is presented for a moderately thick rectangular plate subjected to uniform or nonuniform tent-like temperature loading and resting on an elastic foundation. The plate is assumed to be simply supported on its two opposite edges and the two side edges remain free. The initial geometrical imperfection of the plate is taken into account. The formulation are based on the Reissner-Mindlin plate theory considering the first order shear deformation effect, and including plate-foundation interaction and thermal effects. The analysis uses a mixed Galerkin-perturbation technique to determine the thermal buckling loads and postbuckling equilibrium paths. Numerical examples are presented that relate to the performances of perfect and imperfect, moderately thick plates resting on Pasternak-type or softening nonlinear elastic foundations from which results for Winker elastic foundations follow as a limiting case. Typical results are presented in dimensionless graphical form.