Abstract: A method for damage identification and location of ancient timber structure based on cross-correlation coefficient and cross-correlation peak change rate is proposed. Taking a measurement point of random vibration structure as a reference point, the cross-correlation function between acceleration responses of other measurement points and the reference point is calculated, and all the maximum values are formed into cross-correlation peak vector (CCPV). The cross-correlation coefficient between two CCPVs is used as the damage factor to identify the structure, and the change rate of the cross-correlation peak before and after the structure damage is used as the damage identification index to locate the damage. Taking Xi'an Bell Tower as the engineering background, a finite element model of a wooden frame was established for analysis. The results show that the value of damage factor is significantly reduced after structural damage, which can effectively identify structural damage. The two adjacent measuring points with the highest peak change rate, which determines the damaged location of the structure, correspond to the two nodes of the damaged unit. At the same time, the damage degree of the structure can be estimated according to the change range of the damage factor and the peak change rate.