This research entails a theoretical and numerical study on a new damage detection method for bridges, using response sensitivity in time domain. This method, referred to as “adjoint variable method,” is a finite element model updating sensitivity based method. Governing equation of the bridge-vehicle system is established based on finite element formulation. In the inverse analysis, the new approach is presented to identify elemental flexural rigidity of the structure from acceleration responses of several measurement points. The computational cost of sensitivity matrix is the main concern associated with damage detection by these methods. The main advantage of the proposed method is the inclusion of an analytical method to augment the accuracy and speed of the solution. The reliable performance of the method to precisely identify the location and intensity of all types of predetermined single, multiple, and random damages over the whole domain of moving vehicle speed is shown. A comparison study is also carried out to demonstrate the relative effectiveness and upgraded performance of the proposed method in comparison to the similar ordinary sensitivity analysis methods. Moreover, various sources of errors including the effects of noise and primary errors on the numerical stability of the proposed method are discussed.