The cylindrical shells are used as primary components of complex structures such as airplane fuselages and nuclear pressure vessels. Recently the free vibration analysis of these structures are investigated by many researchers. The engineering informations on experimental validation of the free vibration behavior on the simply supported cylindrical shells are very few. The experimental methods for realizing the physical boundary condition of simply supported edges are examined. Natural frequencies and mode shapes of the isotropic and plain weave composite simply supported shells are obtained by modal tests. A theoretical and finite element analysis are also performed in order to validate the experimental results. The experimental results indicate that the simply supported boundary conditions with bolts along the circumferential direction of shell in both ends are well achieved. Those are shown to agree with the analytical results and with the finite element analysis results. These methods can be used to realize other experimental simple support boundary conditions.