In　view　of　the　problems　of　the　complex　design,　difficult　machining,　and　high　manufacturing　cost　of　a　traditional　nutation　reducer,　this　paper　intends　to　design　a　nutation　reducer　and　study　its　meshing　performance.　First,　the　meshing　pair　is　designed　by　the　method　of　internal　and　external　cutting　of　the　shaper　cutter,　and　the　method　of　face　gear　tooth　surface　modification　is　proposed.　Second,　based　on　tooth　contact　analysis　(TCA)　and　loaded　tooth　contact　analysis　(LTCA),　the　contact　performance　of　the　meshing　pair　is　studied.　Then,　the　nutation　reducer　is　improved　by　using　the　pair　instead　of　the　internal　bevel　gear　pair.　Finally,　examples　are　presented　to　test　the　feasibility　of　the　improved　design.　The　results　show　that　the　improved　nutation　reducer　maintains　the　advantages　of　a　large　transmission　ratio　and　high　bearing　capacity　of　the　traditional　nutation　reducer　and　can　make　use　of　the　advantages　of　face　gears　to　further　improve　its　transmission　performance.　This　study　can　lay　a　foundation　for　the　further　application　and　popularization　of　nutation　reducers.