Abstract: The bearing of a type-7217 aero-engine failed in the bench test. It was found that the bearing was stuck and a rivet on the retainer was broken during disassembly and inspection.There were different degrees of burn marks on the surface of bearing ring, ball bearing and retainer. The failure bearing was analyzed by macroscopic observation, SEM（scanning electron microscope） and EDS（energy dispersive spectroscopy） analysis, metallographic observation and other methods. The results show that the tolerance clearance between the rivet and the nail hole is too large, and the relative reciprocating sliding of the rivet under the effect of vibration leads to fatigue fracture. After the rivet is broken, the spacing between the retainer pocket holes changes, resulting in the deviation of the ball bearing trajectory and from the original rolling friction to sliding friction. Meanwhile, high temperature comes up from the damage in the contact area, causing local grinding burn deformation,and finally leading to bearing binding. It is suggested to adjust the tolerance clearance between the rivet and the nail hole, and appropriately optimize the rivet size to avoid the early fatigue failure.