Abstract: In order to study the effect of rib installation methods on vortex-induced vibration (VIV) and aerodynamic characteristics of stay cables, the wind tunnel test was carried out on the segment model of a stay cable. The results show that the arrangement of ribs has a good control effect on the VIV of the stay cable, and the VIV amplitude of the stay cable can be reduced by at least 46.16% within the test parameters; when the ribs are arranged in through-length, the VIV of the stay cable will be significantly reduced, but it will cause the right shift of the vibration wind speed or the extension of the VIV, and when the ribs are arranged in staggered intervals, the overall vibration reduction effect is better than that of the through-length arrangement. And at 15°, the vibration suppression effect reaches 96.30%, which can be used in the environment with specific incoming wind. When the ribs are staggered and interrupted, the mean drag coefficient of the stay cable model is stable at 1.0~1.3 and the mean lift coefficient is stable at −0.07~0.14, which proves the effectiveness of the arrangement of staggered and interrupted ribs in controlling the vortex-induced vibration response of the stay cable. There is no significant Reynolds number effect on the overall pulsating aerodynamic coefficient when the wind attack angle α equals15° and 30°. The fluctuating resistance coefficient is stable around 0.25, and the fluctuating lift coefficient is stable around 0. It shows that the stay cable has better aerodynamic effect after the installation of interlacing ribs.