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The carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced functionally graded materials (FGM) are expected to be the new generation materials having wide range of unexplored potential applications in various technological areas such as aerospace and structural and chemical industry. The present work deals with the finite element modeling and free vibration analysis of CNT based functionally graded beam using three-dimensional Timoshenko beam theory. It has been assumed that the material properties of CNT based FG beam vary only along the thickness and these properties are evaluated by rule of mixture. The extended Hamilton principle has been applied to find out the governing equations of CNT based FG beam. Finite element method is used to solve governing equation with the exact shape functions. Initial analysis deals with CNTs assumed to be oriented along the length direction only. But practically it is not possible. So, further work deals with the free vibration analysis of functionally graded nanocomposite beams reinforced by randomly oriented straight single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). The Eshelby-Mori-Tanaka approach based on an equivalent fiber is used to investigate the material properties of the beam. Results are presented in tabular and graphical forms to show the effects of carbon nanotube orientations, slenderness ratios, and boundary conditions on the dynamic behavior of the beam.