In order to explore the influence of assembly clearance on the vibration fatigue performance of singlelap structure, an elastoplastic finite element model of metal riveting joint of local structure in aircraft engine air intake is established by using ABAQUS software. The Johnson–Cook failure criterion is used to simulate the progressive failure behavior of rivets and connected parts, and the stress distribution and vibration fatigue life of riveting joint considering different assembly clearance amounts are obtained. The vibration fatigue test is carried out on single-lap riveting joint, and the experimental results are in good agreement with the simulation results in terms of fatigue life, which verifies the accuracy of the numerical model. Compared with the model without clearance, the vibration fatigue life of riveting joint with assembly clearance is significantly reduced by 4.7%–18.0%. The existence of clearance also leads to the transfer of extrusion load between adjacent rivets during riveting process, which is generally expressed as the stress surge at the contact interface between rivets and connected plates, leading to differences in residual stress fields of riveting joint with and without clearance, thereby affecting the vibration fatigue performance of riveting joint.