This paper presents experimental and analytical investigation of the dynamic inelastic response of rectangular metal plates subjected to liquid shock loading. A series of experimental results on fully clamped aluminum alloy and mild steel rectangular plates of different thickness and varying standoff distance of hammer is reported. The effect of varying both shock load and the plate material on the deflection is described. Also, an analytical procedure based on an upper bound solution is used to theoretically study the dynamic behavior of uniform impacted plates. In the present model, effects of strain rate and bending/membrane strain are assumed. The results of the analytical model and the experimental data have good agreement. So, this model can be useful for predicting deformation of rectangular plates under low impact loading.