Taper roller bearings are designed such that cup, cone and rollers have tapered surfaces whose apexes converge at a common point on the bearing axis. Along with metric series bearings, inch series bearings are also available. This type of bearing is suitable for applications that involve heavy or impact loading.

Taper roller bearings consist of an inner ring (cone), an outer ring (cup), a cage and rollers which are profiled to distribute the load evenly. They have high radial and axial (thrust) load capacities at low to intermediate speeds. Taper roller bearings are available in single-row, two-row and four-row designs. With single-row bearings, the thrust load capacity is about 60% of the radial capacity. Double-row bearings have a greater radial load capacity and can handle thrust loads from both directions. The rollers can be configured so that the contact lines to the races converge or diverge towards the axis of rotation. Diverging double-row bearings increase the rigidity of the shaft mounting, but converging bearings do not. Other configurations for double-row bearings feature a single outer ring and two inner rings, or two outer rings and a single inner ring. Four-row tapered roller bearings consist of four rows of alternating converging and diverging rollers.

Most taper roller bearings are made of alloy steels or low-carbon steels. Some applications require the use of case-hardened or thorough-hardened, high-carbon, bearing-quality steel. High-carbon grades of steel do not require carburizing and can be case-hardened by induction heating or thorough-hardened by conventional heating methods. When low-carbon, carburized grades of steel are used, carbon is introduced after the cylindrical roller bearings are machined to a depth sufficient to produce a hardened case that can sustain bearing loads. The addition of carbon and alloys ensures the proper combination of a hard, fatigue-resistant case and a tough, ductile core.

Bore size and outside diameter (OD) are important specifications to consider when selecting tapered roller bearings. The bore size is the bearing's smallest dimension. The outer diameter includes the bearing housing, but excludes the flange. Other important specifications for taper roller bearings include overall width, rated speed (oil), static axial load, static radial load, dynamic axial load, and dynamic radial load. Static axial load and static radial load are, respectively, the maximum axial and radial loads that bearings can withstand without permanent deformation. Dynamic axial load and dynamic radial load are, respectively, the calculated axial and radial loads under which a group of identical bearings with stationary outer rings can endure for a rating life of 1 million revolutions of the inner ring.