This paper presents a method that combines Shuffled Frog Leaping Algorithm (SFLA) with Support Vector Machine (SVM) method in order to identify the fault types of rolling bearing in the gearbox. The proposed method improves the accuracy of fault diagnosis identification after processing the collected vibration signals through wavelet threshold denoising. The global optimization and high computational efficiency of SFLA are applied to the SVM model. Simulation results show that the SFLA-SVM algorithm is effective in fault diagnosis. Compared with SVM and Particle Swarm Optimization SVM (PSO-SVM) algorithms, it is demonstrated that the SFLA-SVM algorithm has the advantages of better global optimization, higher accuracy, and better reliability of diagnosis. Its accuracy is further improved through the integration of the wavelet threshold denoising method.