Abstract: Rocker gear box is the core power transmission mechanism of shearer, and its reliability is of great significance to the efficient production of coal. The fault mechanism and fault diagnosis method of rocker arm gearbox of shearer are summarized in this paper. Firstly, the fault mechanism of rocker gear box bearing and gear under different fault states is summarized. Secondly, the main problems of existing fault diagnosis technology of shearer are analyzed. Finally, it is pointed out that future research should be devoted to accurate fault mechanism, composite fault analysis, weak fault identification, basic data collection, algorithm fusion innovation and multi-source information utilization, so as to provide reference for fault diagnosis of rocker arm gearbox.