Abstract: A nonlinear Rayleigh surface wave detection method was proposed to detect and evaluate the fatigue damage of metal surface. The main contents include:the nonlinear Rayleigh wave detection platform was constructed; the detection of fatigue damage of metal materials surface was realized; measuring the variation of nonlinear coefficients under different tensile load cycles and combining with the micro morphology test of metal materials, the relationship between the nonlinear coefficient, the microstructure of materials and the macro mechanical properties was established. The experimental results show that the nonlinear Rayleigh wave detection method can be used to detect the fatigue damage of metal surface, and has a certain application value.