The rupture initiation position, the stress wave propagations and interface stress distributions of the single-lap adhesive joint with dissimilar adherends under impact tensile loadings are analyzed via experiments combined with FEM calculations taking account of the strain rate dependency property of the adhesive. It is obtained that rupture initiates at the interface of the adherend with higher Young's modulus (steel side in this study) in the joint under impact tensile loadings, which shows the opposite characteristic in the same type of joint under static loadings. A fairly good agreement is observed between the experimental measured and FEM calculated results. In addition, it is also found that the strength of the joint with dissimilar adherends is smaller than that of the joint with similar adherends when the joint is subjected to the impact tensile loadings owing to the different extent of the wave impedance mismatch which depends on the material properties. Finally, the design guideline for the single-lap adhesive joint is summarized and provided.