The invention relates to the technical field of mechanical manufacturing, and specifically discloses a location mechanism and an installation method for installing shuttle box bodies on a rack of an embroidery machine. The location mechanism for the shuttle box bodies, which is disclosed by the invention, at least comprises a surface location fixture and a distance location fixture, wherein the surface location fixture is fixed through a magnetic location part, and operation can be completed by only one worker during an operation process, thus a low labour cost, high disassembly and assembly efficiency, and high installation accuracy are achieved; a rear location surface of each shuttle box body is directly bonded with a location reference surface of a lower location block, thus high location accuracy is achieved, and operation is facilitated; and a distance among the shuttle box bodies is limited through the distance location fixture, thus the operation is simple, and a low personal error is achieved, and moreover, a limit sleeve, a reference sleeve and the side surface of each shuttle box form surface contact, thus high location accuracy is achieved.