Surface pitting is a major failure mode for gears. The contact fatigue life analysis of transmission gear considering running-in process is presented in this paper. Surface roughness change of rolling test is used in a life analysis. Contact stresses are obtained by contact analysis of a semi-infinite solid based on the use of influence functions; the subsurface stress field is obtained using rectangular patch solutions. Mesoscopic multiaxial fatigue criterion which can yield satisfactory results for non-proportional loading is then applied to predict fatigue damage. Suitable counting method and damage rule were used to calculate the fatigue life of random loading caused by rough surface. The life analysis considering running-in is in good agreement with the experimental results.