Objective According to the requirements of home-based rehabilitation and considering the upper limb rehabilitation robot's disadvantages as large volume, complex transmission chain and large driving noise, a center-driven upper-limb rehabilitation robot for cable transmission is designed. Methods Firstly, the device transfer power through a transmission system consisting of wire ropes and a synchronous belt. Secondly, the motor drive equipment is centrally installed on a base far away from the patient, and the paper calls the design as a center-driven power transmission structure. Next, the robot's three-dimensional model is established by Solidworks, and the power transmission system is designed. Finally, through the Motion module in Solidworks, the kinematics simulations of the robot shoulder flexion and extension, shoulder adduction and abduction, elbow joint flexion and extension, and shoulder-elbow linkage flexion and extension are done respectively to verify the rationality of mechanical structure and the feasibility of planned trajectory of the upper limb rehabilitation robot. Results The kinematics simulation curves of shoulder joint, elbow joint and wrist joint confirm that the upper-limb rehabilitation robot can smoothly accomplish the trajectory planning, thus verifythat the mechanical structure design is reasonable and the scheme is feasible. Conclusions The central-driven upper limb rehabilitation robot for cable transmission has the advantages of portable power transmission system and simple structure, and can assist patients to complete various rehabilitation motions.