Abstract The main objective of the present paper is to investigate the wind-induced dynamic fatigue of main-shaft in the vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWT) under the rotation with resorting to the ANSYS code. Firstly, the dynamic responses in three critical positions of main-shaft in the current vertical-axis are analyzed in the case of including the rotation and wind loads into consideration. Based on the investigations on the dynamic responses, the wind-induced dynamic fatigue of main-shaft in the current VAWT under the rotation is then studied, so as to determine the fatigue life usage coefficient and evaluate the working requirements of the main-shaft in the current VAWT.