Bearings are the core components of various mechanical equipment, and heavy or bias loads can lead to bearing failures. To solve the difficulty of measuring the raceway load distribution of cylindrical roller bearings under rotation, we propose an smart hollow roller design. Four sets of strain gauges are pasted on the inner wall of the hollow roller in the axial direction, and the deformation of the strain gauges can reflect the load of the roller. The stress information measured by the load sensors is transmitted to the host computer in a wireless way. Based on the finite element simulation, the hollowness of the smart roller and the position of the strain gauges are determined. The theoretical model between strain gauge deformation and contact load is also established. The deformation of the strain gauges in the static calibration experiment demonstrates a good linearity relationship with the load. The experimental results show that the smart roller can realize the monitoring of the load during the rotation motion. The method of measuring the bearing raceway load distribution by smart roller provides a new idea for realizing bearing condition monitoring.