In this paper the modified differential quadrature method (MDQM) is proposed for static and vibration analyses of beams. Modified weighting matrices are developed and a new formulation process is presented for incorporating boundary conditions such that the numerical error induced by using the δ-method in the original DQM is reduced. The present method is applied to various beam problems, such as static deflections of Euler beams, buckling loads of columns, and free vibrations of Timoshenko beams. Numerical results of the present method are shown to have excellent accuracy when compared to exact values and are more accurate than those obtained by the original DQM. The accuracy and efficiency of the present method have been demonstrated.