The vibration and stability analysis is investigated for composite cylindrical shells that composed of ceramic, FGM, and metal layers subjected to various loads. Material properties of FG layer are varied continuously in thickness direction according to a simple power distribution in terms of the ceramic and metal volume fractions. The modified Donnell type stability and compatibility equations are obtained. Applying Galerkin's method analytic solutions are obtained for the critical parameters. The detailed parametric studies are carried out to study the influences of thickness variations of the FG layer, radius-to-thickness ratio, lengths-to-radius ratio, material composition and material profile index on the critical parameters of three-layered cylindrical shells. Comparing results with those in the literature validates the present analysis.