This study is aimed to examine the influence of the rotational stiffness of U-shaped ribs on the local buckling behaviors of laminated composite plates. Applying the orthotropic plates with eight layers of the layup [(0°)4]s and [(0°/90°)2]s, 3-dimensional finite element models for the U-rib stiffened plates were setup by using ABAQUS and then a series of eigenvalue analyses were conducted. There is a need to develope a simple design equation to establish the rotational stiffness effect, which could be easily quantified by comparing the theoretical critical stress equation for laminated composite plates with elastic restraints based on the Classical laminated plate theory. Through the parametric numerical studies, it is confirmed that there should clearly exist an increasing effect of local plate buckling strength due to the rotational stiffness by closed-section ribs. An applicable coefficient for practical design should be verified and proposed for future study. This study will contribute to the future study for establishing an increasing coefficient for the design strength and optimum design of U-rib stiffened plates.