A simplified empirical model for fatigue analysis of deepwater marine risers due to vortex-induced vibration (VIV) in non-uniform current is presented. A simplified modal vibration equation is employed according to the characteristics of deepwater top tensioned risers. The response amplitude of each mode is determined by a balance between the energy feeding into the riser over the lock-in regions and the energy dissipated by the fluid damping over the remainder based on the data from self-excited oscillation and forced oscillation experiments of rigid cylinders. Multi-modal VIV fatigue loading is obtained by the square root of the sum of squares approach. Compared with previous works, this model can take fully account of the main intrinsic natures of VIV for low mass ratio structures on lock-in regions, added mass and nonlinear fluid damping. In addition, a closed form solution of fatigue damage is presented for the case of a riser with uniform mass and cross-section oscillating in a uniform flow. Fatigue analysis of a typical deepwater riser operating in Gulf of Mexico and West Africa shows that the current velocity profiles affect the riser’s fatigue life significantly and the most dangerous locations of the riser are also pointed out. A simplified empirical model for fatigue analysis of deepwater marine risers due to vortex-induced vibration (VIV) in non-uniform current is presented. A response to the vibration of the deepwater top tensioned risers mode is determined by a balance between the energy feeding into the riser over the lock-in regions and the energy dissipated by the fluid damping over the remainder of the data based on the data from self-excited oscillation and forced oscillation experiments of rigid cylinders. Multi-modal Compared with previous works, this model can take fully account of the main intrinsic natures of VIV for low mass ratio structures on lock-in regions, added mass and nonlinear fluid damping. In addition, a closed form solution of fatigue damage is presented for the case of a riser with uniform mass and cross-section oscillating in au niform flow. Fatigue analysis of a typical deepwater riser operating in Gulf of Mexico and West Africa shows that the current velocity profiles affect the riser’s fatigue life and the most dangerous locations of the riser are also pointed out.