Abstract: In order to gain the interior load distribution and contact stress of the heavy-duty slewing bearing accounting for the supporting structure flexibility and the plastic deformation of the bearing, the contact between the rolling element and the raceway was equivalent to an unidirectional compression spring, and then the whole simplified finite element model combining the bearing with the supporting structure was built. The spring coefficient was determined by the load verse elastic-plastic deformation relationship of the single rolling element that was obtained by finite element contact method. The difference between the traditional Hertz contact results and the FEM results is very obvious for the slewing bearings with plastic deformation, such as contact deflection of the rolling elements and the raceway, load distribution on the rolling elements, stress in the raceway and contact pressure between the rolling elements and the raceway. Therefore, the method based on the Hertz contact mechanics theory is not applicable for the performance analysis of the heavy-duty slewing bearing.