In this paper, Hamilton's principle is used to derive the dynamic equilibrium equations of composite nonprismatic beams made of anisotropic materials. The effects of transverse shear deformations and structural damping are considered. The displacements are defined on an arbitrarily selected coordinate system. For Hamilton's principle, the dynamic behavior of nonprismatic beams is characterized by two energy functions: a kinetic energy and a potential energy. The formulation uses the procedure of variational operations. The obtained dynamic equilibrium equations and natural boundary conditions are highly coupled. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.