Abstract: A fault diagnosis method of rolling bearings based on local characteristic-scale decomposition( LCD) and Teager operator is put forward. First,a new nonstationary signal method,i. e.,LCD,is illustrated based on the definition of the intrinsic scale component( ISC) with the physical instantaneous frequency. Second,the vibration signals were collected on the bearing faults test rig,and the signals were decomposed into several intrinsic scale components using LCD. Third, the Teager envelope spectrum is applied to the selected intrinsic scale component which stands for the bearing faults. Finally,the intrinsic frequency of the faults bearing can be obtained. Results of the experiment and engineering signals of bearings show that this method can effectively diagnose the faults of bearing and it can be applied to practical applications.