The generalized coupled thermoelasticity based on the Lord–Shulman (L-S) theory is employed to study the transient thermoelastic behavior of rotating functionally graded (FG) truncated conical shells subjected to thermal shock with different boundary conditions. Material properties are assumed to be graded in the thickness direction, which it can vary according to a simple power law distribution. The governing equations together with related boundary conditions are discretized using a mapping-differential quadrature method (DQM) and Newmark time integration scheme in the spatial and temporal domains, respectively. The formulation and method of the solution are validated by showing their fast rate of convergence and comparison with available data in the open literature. Then, the effects of the material graded index, the angular velocity, semi-vertex angle together with other geometrical parameters on the thermal behavior of the rotating FG truncated conical shells under thermal shock, including temperature change, displacement and stress components are investigated.