Spherical roller bearings have two rows of rollers, which mainly bear radial loads and can also bear axial loads in any direction. They have high radial load capacity and are particularly suitable for working under heavy loads or vibration loads, but cannot withstand pure axial loads. The outer raceway of this type of bearing is spherical, so its centering performance is good and can compensate for coaxiality errors. There are two rows of symmetrical spherical rollers, with a shared spherical raceway on the outer ring and two raceways on the inner ring that are inclined at an angle to the bearing axis, providing good centering performance. This type of bearing has a high load capacity, and can withstand axial loads acting in both directions in addition to radial loads, with good impact resistance.

The design of self-aligning roller bearings enables them to have automatic self-aligning function, which means that the bearing itself can be adjusted and the angle alignment error between the inner and outer rings can be adjusted. Under normal load and working conditions, when the inner ring rotates, the misalignment values given in the table below are allowed. Whether this given value can be fully achieved depends on the design and sealing type of the bearing configuration. Spherical roller bearings are designed for high radial loads or even environments with eccentricity, improper lubrication, impurities, extremely high speed, or high stress.