A method for the analysis of free vibrations of steel and plain weave composite cylindrical shells with a longitudinal, interior rectangular plate is developed by using the receptance method. This method is based on the ratio of a deflection (or slope) response to a harmonic force(or moment) at the joint. In this study, after getting the free vibration characteristics of the simply supported plate and shell, the frequency equation of the combined system is obtained by considering the continuity condition at the joint between the plate and the shell. The numerical results are compared with published results and experiment results in order to show the validate of the formulation, and shown that the analytical results agreed with those from other methods. The effects of the location and the thickness of the plate on the natural frequencies are also investigated.