Owing to its favorable mechanical properties derived from a ferrite-pearlite dual-phase microstructure, 60 steel is widely used in load-bearing components such as bearings and transmission gears, as well as in impact-resistant structures in vehicles and ships, underscoring its potential for dynamic engineering applications. In this study, plate-impact experiments were performed using a single-stage gas gun. The shock-induced microstructural response of 60 steel was examined using SEM and EBSD. Free-surface velocity profiles indicate that spall strength initially increases with peak stress and subsequently approaches saturation. Damage morphology reveals that brittle fracture is the dominant failure mechanism, characterized by the nucleation and propagation of cleavage cracks. At higher peak stresses, ductile damage becomes increasingly evident through the nucleation, growth, and coalescence of microvoids. Grain boundaries, cementite lamellae, and ferrite-cementite interfaces serve as preferential damage-nucleation sites. Within pearlite colonies, microcracks tend to propagate along directions forming larger angles with the cementite lamellae. EBSD analysis further confirms that grain orientation governs cleavage-crack propagation, with microcracks preferentially advancing along the {001} crystallographic planes.