© 2019, The Author(s). Plastic deformation of polycrystalline materials under shock wave loading is a critical characteristic in material science and engineering. However, owing to the nanosecond time scale of the shock-induced deformation process, we currently have a poor mechanistic understanding of the structural changes from atomic scale to mesoscale. Here, we observed the dynamic grain refinement of polycrystalline aluminum foil under laser-driven shock wave loading using time-resolved X-ray diffraction. Diffraction spots on the Debye-Scherrer ring from micrometer-sized aluminum grains appeared and disappeared irregularly, and were shifted and broadened as a result of laser-induced shock wave loading. Behind the front of shock wave, large grains in aluminum foil were deformed, and subsequently exhibited grain rotation and a reduction in size. The width distribution of the diffraction spots broadened because of shock-induced grain refinement and microstrain in each grain. We performed quantitative analysis of the inhomogeneous lattice strain and grain size in the shocked polycrysalline aluminum using the Williamson-Hall method and determined the dislocation density under shock wave loading.