Purpose <p>Rolling bearings are of fundamental importance in rotating machinery, with outer-ring spalling being a common and typical defect. The dynamic model of rolling bearings enables in-depth analysis of the dynamic response characteristics associated with local defects in bearings. This paper aims to establish an advanced dynamic model for local faults in the outer ring of rolling bearings to accurately simulate their vibration characteristics.</p> Methods <p>This paper, by analyzing the variation in the center position of rolling elements as they pass through the fault region of the bearing outer ring, employs random sequences to simulate the morphology of the fault bottom. Additionally, factors such as centrifugal force and gyroscopic torque are incorporated into the model development. The ER-16&#xa0;K bearing is adopted as the experimental sample for numerical computations and experimental validations. Time-domain and frequency-domain responses from experiments and simulations conducted under different rotational speeds are compared, and the effect of varying local fault depths on vibration characteristics is investigated.</p> Results <p>The newly developed model exhibits high precision and low error in comparison with other models, with a maximum error of only 3.91%, and can effectively simulate vibration characteristics. The fault characteristic frequency is found to increase proportionally with rotational speed, and the vibration acceleration amplitude increases significantly as the fault depth increases.</p> Conclusion <p>The findings have provided a theoretical basis for rolling bearing fault diagnosis, offering insights into the relationship between fault depth, rotational speed, and vibration characteristics. The advanced dynamic model established in this paper has improved the accuracy of fault simulation, enabling more efficient and accurate condition monitoring and fault detection for rolling bearings.</p>