The accurate measurement of tooth surface deviation is an important prerequisite for the quality monitoring of high-precision spiral bevel gear. A measurement method for tooth surface deviation of spiral bevel gear is proposed based on one-dimensional probe, which can accurately measure and evaluate tooth flank. According to the forming principle of spiral bevel gear tooth surface, the theoretical surface is constructed as the measurement reference flank. A series of measures and methods are adopted to ensure the accuracy and correctness of one-dimensional probe measurement. These effective methods include the construction of the precise positioning of the gear blank and its surface, the measurement planning of reduction dimension which the gear needs to rotate once the normal angle after each point is measured, and the compensation for the increasing dimension of the one-dimensional probe. In addition, the minimization of the normal deviation of the tooth flank is achieved by using the optimum matching technique of the theoretical and the actual surfaces. The deviation degree of the actual surface relative to the theoretical surface can be accurately calculated and evaluated by establishing deviation model, which ensures the correctness for the evaluation result of the deviation. Finally, the test of tooth surface deviation is carried out on JD45 + gear measuring center using one-dimensional probe and Gleason 650GMS gear measuring center using three-dimensional probe, respectively. The measurement results show that the evaluation results of one-dimensional probe are in good agreement with those of three-dimensional probe. The proposed theory and method not only expand the measurement range of gear measuring center using one-dimensional probe, but also have certain reference significance for the precision measurement of other complex surfaces.