In this paper, we propose the time-dependent coupled mode analysis of one-dimensional magneto-photonic crystals including one, two or multiple defect layers. The performance of the structures, namely the total transmission, Faraday rotation and ellipticity, is obtained using the proposed method. The results of the developed analytic approach are verified by comparing them to the results of the exact numerical transfer matrix method. Unlike the widely used numerical method, our proposed analytic method seems promising for the synthesis as well as the analysis purposes. Moreover, the proposed method has not the restrictions of the previously examined analytic methods. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.