To establish a high-fidelity model of engineering structures, this paper introduces an improved Bayesian model updating method for stochastic dynamic models based on frequency response functions (FRFs). A novel validation metric is proposed first within the Bayesian theory by using the normalized half-power bandwidth frequency transformation (NHBFT) and the principal component analysis (PCA) method to process the analytical and experimental frequency response functions. Subsequently, traditional Bayesian and approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) are improved by integrating NHBFT-PCA metrics for different application scenarios. The efficacy of the improved Bayesian model updating method is demonstrated through a numerical case involving a three-degrees-of-freedom system and the experimental case of a bolted joint lap plate structure. Comparative analysis shows that the improved method outperforms conventional methods. The efforts of this study provide an effective and efficient updating method for dynamic model updating based on the FRFs, addressing some of the existing challenges associated with FRF-based model updating.