This research is based on higher‐order shear deformation theory to analyse the free vibration of composite annular circular plates using the spline approximation technique. Equilibrium equations are derived, and differential equations in terms of displacement and rotational functions are obtained. Cubic or quantic spline is used to approximate the displacement and rotational functions depending upon the order of these functions. A generalized eigenvalue problem is obtained and solved numerically for eigenfrequency parameter and associated eigenvector of spline coefficients. Frequency of annular circular plates with different numbers of layers with each layer consisting of different materials is analysed. The effect of geometric and material parameters on frequency value is investigated for simply supported condition. A comparative study with existing results narrates the validity of the present results. Graphs and tables depict the obtained results. Some figures and graphs are drawn by using Autodesk Maya and Matlab software.