A semi-analytical and semi-numerical method is proposed for the dynamic analysis of foundations. The Lamb's solution and the approximate formulae were used to establish the relation of the contact force and deflection between the foundation and soil. Therefore, the foundation can be separated from soil and analyzed by FEM as for the static cases. The plate can be
treated as that the known forces are acting on the upper surface, and the contact pressure from soil can be represented as the deflection. So that only the plate needs to be divided into elements in the analysis. By this method, a series of vibration problems, including various shapes and rigidities of foundations, different excitation frequencies, were analyzed. Furthermore, it can be used for the embedded foundation. The numerical examples show that this method has simplicity, highly accurate and versatile. It is an effective method for the dynamic analysis of foundations.