The flexural vibration characteristics of a sandwich beam system with a partially inserted viscoelastic layer have been quantitatively studied using a finite element analysis in combination with a sine-sweep test. Antisymmetric mode shapes of the flexural vibration were visualized by the holographic interferometry and agreed with those calculated by the finite element simulation. Effects of the beam thickness as well as the length and thickness of partial viscoelastic layers on the system loss factor(η$\_$s/) and resonant frequency($omega$$\_$r/) were significantly large fur the symmetric and antisymmetric modes of the beam system.