Abstract The aim of this paper is to study the longitudinal frequency of a cracked nanobeam. The frequency equation of the nanobeam with clamped–clamped and clamped–free boundary conditions is derived based on the nonlocal elasticity theory. According to the equation, it can be found that the effects of the crack parameter, crack location, and nonlocal parameter on the longitudinal frequency of the cracked nanobeam are significant. The frequency decreases with an increase of the crack parameter. However, the increasing nonlocal parameter results in a decrease of the crack effect on the frequency. In addition, when the crack location is near the support, a larger decrease in the frequency can be observed.