Abstract In this paper, a third order shear deformation theory is used to study the behavior of laminated smart composite plate with magnetostrictive layers, while accounting for geometric nonlinearity in the von-Karman sense. A coupled analysis of magnetostrictive material is presented where Terfenol-D is used as a magnetostrictive material to control the responses of the laminated smart composite plates. A C 0 finite element formulation is proposed for this purpose. The accuracy of the present formulation has been shown by comparison of the present results with those available in the literature. Some new results are also presented for future research in this field of study.