An effective approach is developed to analyze the transient thermal analysis in a functionally graded hollow cylinder. The heat conductivity, mass density and specific heat are assumed to vary along the radial direction with arbitrary grading pattern. The transient solution in the radial direction is obtained based on the laminate approximation theory. In solving technique, the transient solution is divided into two parts: One is quasi-static solution and the other is dynamic solution. The quasi-static solution is obtained by the state space method and the dynamic solution is obtained by the initial parameter method. In this analysis, all the manipulation is performed in time domain. In the illustrative examples, the effect of the inhomogeneity form on the transient thermal responses is investigated. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.