Abstract: As a key component of the six degree of freedom (6-DOF) parallel excitation platform, the precision spherical hinge's performance has a direct impact on the vibration control accuracy of the entire system. To meet the requirements of high-stiffness, high fundamental frequency and zero-gap for the spherical joint, a design method based on the Hooke joint structure is proposed. Firstly, according to the working condition of the hinge, a tapered roller bearing is selected as its rotary support. Then the configuration scheme and the preload design for the bearing could achieve the zero-gap movement requirement, thus the structure forms of the 2-DOF and 3-DOF joints are designed. After the static and dynamic characteristics are acquired by the finite element analysis, it is shown that the complete structural design of the spherical joint can comply with the requirements of stiffness and frequency. On the basis of this design, a prototype is manufactured and integrated into the 6-DOF excitation platform. In the dynamic characteristic test of the joint and the vibration control test of the excitation platform, the first-order natural frequency of the joint and the control response of the platform are obtained, respectively, which shows the validity of the proposed structure and design approach.