This study is concerned with the estimation of vibration-field of a cylindrical structure by modal expansion method(MEM). MEM is a technique that identifies modal participation factors using some of vibration signals and natural modes of the structure: The selection of sensor locations has a big influence on predicted vibration results. Therefore, this paper deals with four optimal sensor placement( OSP) methods, EFI, EFI-DPR, EVP, AutoMAC, for the estimation of vibration field. It also finds optimal sensor locations of the cylindrical structure by each OSP method and then performs MEMs. Predicted vibration results compared with reference ones obtained by forced response analysis. The standard deviations of errors between reference and predicted results were also calculated. It is utilized to select the most suitable OSP method for estimation of vibration field of the cylindrical structure.