In this paper, the hydroelastic response of a circular plate excited by plane incident waves is studied using the scaled boundary finite-element method (SBFEM), a novel semi-analytical approach with the combined advantages of both finite-element and boundary-element methods. The governing sixth-order partial differential equation is decomposed into three Helmholtz-type equations and solved semi-analytically by matching the boundary conditions at the edge of the plate. Discretising only the circumference of the plate, the current SBFEM model exhibits excellent computational accuracy and efficiency. The technique can be extended to solve more complex wave-structure interaction problems resulting in direct engineering applications.