Stress wave propagation effect and failure characteristic of limestone were studied by one-stage light-gas gun induced-plate impact experiment technology. The experiment results indicate that dispersion effect and attenuation characteristic exist in impacting rock. The failure of rock sample has division characteristics, which are head failure zone, middle tension-compression failure zone and tail fracture failure zone. On this basis, the dynamic mechanical response of rock target under impact loading was analyzed by LS-DYNA finite element method. Stress-time curves in different impact velocities were obtained by sensors buried in rock target. The comparative analysis of experiment and simulation show that the main reason of rock failure is the joint action of longitudinal compression wave and transverse sparse wave, and the conclusions have some significance on guiding farther dynamic mechanical experiment of rock.