The vibration characteristics of TBM cutterhead under the impact loads were studied. The expression of dynamic response sensitivity was deduced by the direct derivative method, and a method of sensitivity analysis which is suitable for forced vibration response of TBM cutterhead was established, based on the coupling dynamics model of TBM cutterhead system. Taking a hard rock TBM cutterhead system of a water tunnel project in northwest Liaoning Province as an application instance, the vibration responses and sensitivities of cutterhead were calculated by a collaborative numerical method, and the influences of cutterhead mass distribution on responses were analyzed. The results show that the vibration response sensibility to the mass of cutterhead piece is maximum, and the none of value in each direction is equal to 0, which shows that the mass parameter variation can affect the cutterhead vibrations of each direction. Moreover, the support stiffness of cutterhead only affects the associated vibration, and the axial vibration response sensibility to the axial support stiffness is about 2 times of that in overturning direction. Furthermore, the cutterhead vibration is minimum when the mass fraction of cutterhead piece is controlled in the range of 13%-14%. © 2017, Central South University Press. All right reserved.