Abstract: The cleaning element is the key part of sugarcane leaf cleaner, and the way in various installations would directly affect the leaf-cleaning quality and the life of the element. The stress concentration incurred when the element was moulded in plastic, is the main fatigue origin, and crack would be gradually formed under the action of circulating load at the place with stress concentration. A virtual orthogonal experiment method is used to optimize installing parameters of cleaning element; and a simulation is made to analyze the cleaning element fatigue life so that its life could be estimated quickly and effectively. When the installation parameters of the cleaning element are optimized, the element life could be prolonged, and the effect is validated by experiment.