Optimization of the collocated piezoceramic sensor/actuator placement is investigated numerically and verified experimentally for vibration control of laminated composite plates. The finite element method is used for the analysis of dynamic characteristics of the laminated composite plates with the piezoceramic sensor/actuator. The structural damping index(SDI) is defined from the modal damping(2$omega$ζ) . It is chosen as the objective function for optimization. Weights for each vibrational mode are taken into account in the SDI calculation. The gradient method is used for the optimization. Optimum location of the piezoceramic sensor/actuator is determined by maximizing the SDI. Numerical simulation and experimental results show that the optimum location of the piezoceramic sensor/actuator is dependent upon the outer layer fiber orientations of the plate, and location and size of the piezoceramic sensor/actuator