The integro-partial differential equations governing the dynamic behavior of viscoelastic plates taking account of higher-order shear effects and finite deformations are presented. From the matrix formulas of differential quadrature, the special matrix product and the domain decoupled technique presented in this work, the nonlinear governing equations are converted into an explicit matrix form in the spatial domain. The dynamic behaviors of viscoelastic plates are numerically analyzed by introducing new variables in the time domain. The methods in nonlinear dynamics are synthetically applied to reveal plenty and complex dynamical phenomena of viscoelastic plates. The numerical convergence and comparison studies are carried out to validate the present solutions. At the same time, the influences of load and material parameters on dynamic behaviors are investigated. One can see that the system will enter into the chaotic state with a paroxysm form or quasi-periodic bifurcation with changing of parameters.