It is difficult to effectively distinguish the key information of non-stationary dynamic signals in many engineering applications, such as fault detection, geological exploration, and logistics transportation. To deal with this problem, a classification and recognition algorithm based on variational mode decomposition (VMD) and the Support Vector Machine (SVM) optimized by the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) optimization model is first proposed in this study. The algorithm first applies VMD to decompose the non-stationary time-domain signals into multiple variational intrinsic mode functions (VIMFs). Then, it calculates the correlation coefficient between each mode and the original signals and conducts signal reconstruction by sorting the VIMFs. On the base of this, it performs modal filtering on the non-stationary signals according to the correlation coefficients between the reconstructed signal and the original signal. Subsequently, the WOA is used to optimize two key parameters of the SVM. Finally, the optimization model is exploited to classify and recognize the impact and vibration of non-stationary signals. A series of simulations and experiments for the algorithm is carried out and analyzed deeply. The comparative test results indicate that the classification and recognition method for non-stationary signals based on VMD and WOA-SVM (VMD-WOA-SVM) proposed in this paper converges faster and recognizes the key information of non-stationary dynamic signals more accurately with a recognition precision of 96.66%.