Abstract In this paper, a simple first-order shear deformation theory is presented for laminated composite plates. Unlike the existing first-order shear deformation theory, the present one contains only four unknowns and has strong similarities with the classical plate theory in many aspects such as equations of motion, boundary conditions, and stress resultant expressions. Equations of motion and boundary conditions are derived from Hamilton’s principle. Analytical solutions of simply supported antisymmetric cross-ply and angle-ply laminates are obtained and the results are compared with the exact three-dimensional (3D) solutions and those predicted by existing theories. Comparison studies show that this new first-order shear deformation theory can achieve the same accuracy of the existing first-order shear deformation theory which has more number of unknowns.