The stress variations in butt adhesive joints of dissimilar hollow cylinders subjected to impact tensile loadings are analyzed in elastic and elasto-plastic deformation ranges using a finite element method (FEM). The FEM code name employed is DYNA3D. The effects of Young's modulus ratio between dissimilar adherends and the adhesive thickness on the stress variations at the interfaces are examined. In addition, the process of rupture at the interfaces of the joint is simulated. The stress distributions in the joints under static loadings are also analyzed by FEM. The characteristics of the stress variations in the joints under impact loadings are compared with those in the joints under static loadings. Also, the joint strengths under impact loadings are estimated by elasto-plastic FEM. It is found that the maximum value of the maximum principal stress sigma(1) occurs at the outside edge of the lower interface. It is also found that the maximum principal stress sigma(1) at the lower interface decreases as the adhesive thickness increases. The characteristics of the joints under impact loadings are found to be opposite to those under static loadings. Furthermore, differences in the characteristics of the stress variations are shown between the dissimilar joints and the similar joints. In addition, the experiments were carried out to measure the strain response and strains in the butt adhesive joints under both impact and static loadings using strain gauges. Furthermore, joint strengths under both impact and static loadings were measured. Fairly good agreements are observed between the numerical and the measured results.