An adaptive resource allocation algorithm is proposed for the adaptive resource allocation problem of orthogonal frequency division multiple access, in which a novel subcarrier and power allocation algorithms based on fish swarm algorithm are proposed. Subcarrier allocation is first implemented on condition that the m total power is distributed uniformly on each subcarrier. The fish swarm algorithm is then used to fulfill power allocation through the global search ,including a fitness function of the user's fairness and system capacity. Computer simulation results show that the proposed algorithm not only guarantees user fairness but also achieves maximal system capacity.