This article is concerned with the dynamic treatment of thermally induced stress waves in an infinite elastic plate subjected to impulsive electromagnetic radiation. The plate is assumed to be a functionally graded material (FGM), meaning that the material is composed of multiconstituents in ceramics and metals, the volume fractions of which distribute continuously inside the material. The mathematical problem is one of wave propagation in a typical nonhomogeneous material The radiation absorption is assumed to occur at a constant rate for the duration of the pulse and to diminish exponentially with distance from the surface of the plate, assuming negligible heat conduction. In treating problems, the nature of the stress-wave buildup in the plate is studied for the case of a temperature-dependent solid, that is, when material properties vary with temperature. The numerical procedure employs the characteristic method based on the integration of the governing equations along the characteristics. Numerical calculations are carried out for ceramic-metal FGM plates showing the influences of the temperature-dependent material properties and the volume fractions of the phases composing the FGM on the magnitude of the dynamic thermal stresses.