<p>The incorporation of graphene nanoplates (GnPs) into cement-based concrete has gained significant attention due to their ability to enhance tensile strength and inhibit crack initiation from the nanoscale to the microscale. However, their influence on the tensile and impact performance of coal bottom ash (BA) concrete has yet to be systematically explored. This study addresses this gap by investigating the influence of GnPs (0.5% by cement weight) on the properties of concrete containing BA as a sand replacement at levels ranging from 0 to 100%, with particular focus on tensile strength and impact resistance. The first objective was to determine the maximum BA content that avoids strength loss, followed by evaluating its impact resistance as the second objective. The results demonstrated that even with 70% BA replacement, the compressive and tensile strengths remained satisfactory, recording 43 MPa and 2.5 MPa, respectively, which were comparable to the control mixture (42.4 MPa and 2.3 MPa). The highest strength zone occurred up to 30% BA, where compressive and tensile strengths increased by 13.7% and 30.4%, respectively. At this level, the energy absorption capacity increased from 2797.5 J to 3960.9 J at the initial cracking stage. This improvement is attributed to the remarkable effect of GnPs in hindering crack propagation from the nano to microscale, resulting in overall improved performance. Furthermore, the developed nonlinear equations exhibited strong predictive and optimization performance, with high correlation coefficients (<i>R</i>² &gt; 0.99) and low error values (MAE &lt; 0.259 MPa and RMSE &lt; 0.319 MPa).</p>