Vibration of functionally graded sandwich (FGSW) beams under nonuniform motion of a moving load is studied using a third-order shear deformation finite element formulation. The beams consists three layers, a homogeneous ceramic core and two functionally graded faces. Instead of the rotation, the finite element formulation is derived by using the transverse shear rotation as a unknown. Newmark method is used to compute the dynamic response of the beams. Numerical result reveals that the derived formulation is efficient, and it is capable to give accurate vibration characteristics by a small number of the elements. A parametric study is carried out to illustrate the effects of the material distribution, layer thickness ratio and moving load speed on the dynamic behavior of the beams. The influence of acceleration and deceleration of the moving load on the vibration of the beams is also examined and discussed.