<p>Riveting quality is crucial to an aircraft's overall aerodynamic performance and fatigue life. In order to enhance the riveting quality of 2A10 aluminum alloy rivets, this study proposed an ultrasonic vibration assisted riveting method by developing an ultrasonic riveting system. It first calibrated the ultrasonic riveting system so as to ensure the experimental accuracy. Then the influence of ultrasonic vibration time on the deformation mechanism and mechanical properties of 2A10 aluminum alloy rivets was investigated by conducting a series of experiments including rivet, pull-out, shear, and microhardness assessments. And it examined the impact of ultrasonic vibration on riveting force, surface roughness, interference, grain organization change, and grain flow from the both macroscopic and microscopic viewpoints. The theoretical analysis and experimental results showed that ultrasonic vibration can reduce the riveting force by 18.56% and enhance the quality of the rivet surface distinctly, which attributes to the decrease of the difficult deformation region of rivet driven head under action of ultrasonic vibration. The grain density increasing and refinement of the rivet driven head promote the flowing of grains, and therefore improves interference uniformity of the rivet rod by 20.56%. The proposed ultrasonic vibration riveting method can increase the tensile strength and shear strength by 3.7% and 2.8%, respectively comparing with the traditional riveting method. Furthermore, it improves the surface hardness of the rivet head and the rivet driven head 7.76% and 6.01%, respectively.</p>