A vacuum circuit breaker (VCB) with permanent magnet actuator (PMA) has been studied in this study. Electromagnetic field analysis and dynamic simulations have been carried out for optimal design of VCB by using commercial software Maxwell and ADAMS. This simulation model can be an effective method for the VCB, which has non-linear output force of PMA, friction, and impact for operations. An experiment has been conducted to evaluate correctness of the simulated model. By using this evaluated model, the displacement and velocity characteristics of the VCB have been simulated with following conditions : (1) The different output forces of PMA have been applied, (2) The friction conditions in follow lever shaft and moving part have been changed, (3) The mass conditions of moving part have been changed. The simulated results shows that the velocity characteristics are mainly determined by the output force of PMA. The effects due to the changes of friction conditions against the dynamic characteristics was small, and the mass conditions of the moving parts affect the velocity and a bouncing phenomenon of VCB. From these results, the optimal design conditions for the VCB have been derived.