Analytical solutions for the vibrations of thick symmetric angle-ply laminated composite cylindrical shells are established using the first-order shear deformation theory. The complex method is developed to deal with the partial differential governing equations of thick symmetric angle-ply laminated composite cylindrical shells. Numerical results are provided for comparison, and coincide with existing results in the literature. The frequency characteristics for thick symmetric angle-ply laminated composite cylindrical shells with different H/R and L/R ratios are studied in comparison with those of symmetric cross-ply laminates. Also, the influence of lamination angle and number of lamination layers on frequency is investigated in details.