Gallium phosphide (GaP) is a widely used and promising semiconductor material for photonics devices and we suppose the ultrafast laser can be a competitive tool for GaP processing. We used an 800 nm centered femtosecond (fs) laser with a pulse duration of 50 fs to irradiate the GaP crystal. The ablation threshold was first determined, and then the ultrafast dynamics including plasma expansion, shockwave formation and propagation, and spectral evolution were acquired and analyzed. The evolution of ejected plasma in the initial stage changed from cylindrical to planar propagation with the augment of laser fluence. The study on the propagation properties of shockwaves showed that the energy of propelling shockwaves accounted for 12% to 18% of the laser pulse energy at all fluences above the ablation threshold. A prominent plasma splitting was observed at a fluence slightly higher than the threshold, and a phenomenon that the plasma protruded out of the shockwaves was also found. Finally, the transient temperature and density of electron at different fluences were calculated. The temperature difference between the plasma and the shockwave proved the heating effect of the plasma during ablation.