The impulse response test method is widely adopted as one of the most practical methods at present for dynamic analysis of complex machine tool structures. In most of cases, the impulsive hammering is carried out with human hand. As a result of this, the magnitude and the direction of excitation force are varied, which causes poor accuracy of dynamic analysis of structures, especially when non-linearity exists in the structure. Besides, it is pointed out that the adjustment of the magnitude and the duration of the impulsive force is difficult in manual excitation. In order to overcome such defects, an impulsive hammering device is developed here which can control the magnitude and duration of the impulsive force with good repeatability. The device consists basically of two masses connected by a coil spring and is driven by an air cylinder. It was proved by experiments that accurate and repeatable frequency responses are obtained by the device developed. The effect of structural non-linearity in impulsive response testing is also analyzed experimentally.