The progress in fretting fatigue understanding and predictability is reviewed, with engineering applications in mind. While industrial assessments often relies on simple empirical parameters, research in fretting fatigue should allow the the design engineer to improve confidence in the fretting fatigue analysis.Fretting fatigue cracks often form in multiaxial stress fields with severe gradients under the contact area, and are inherently difficult to predict.By describing the fretting stress gradients using comparisons with the mechanical fields surrounding cracks and notches, crack nucleation threshold conditions and finite life can efficiently be determined. Also, non-local stress intensity multipliers provide promising tools for the industrial finite element analysis, often involving complex geometries and loading conditions.The use of multiaxial fatigue criteria to determine fretting fatigue nucleation life is also reviewed. Researchers have shown that critical plane calculations with some stress-averaging method can predict fretting fatigue crack initiation. However, the frictional interface causes nonproportional loading paths, and the application of critical plane methods is not straight forward.

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Fretting and fretting fatigue are important considerations to be made in the design and development of medium‐speed reciprocating engines. Predictive capabilities for safe‐life design often rely on very simple empirical parameters and experience. Practices are briefly reviewed, and opportunities for more sophisticated methodologies are highlighted. It is concluded that more research into fretting fatigue with complex load sequences are needed.