Tapered roller bearings have conical inner and outer raceways with tapered rollers arranged between them. The projection lines of all conical surfaces converge at the same point on the bearing axis. This design makes tapered roller bearings particularly suitable for bearing combined (radial and axial) loads. The axial load capacity of the bearing is mostly determined by the contact angle α; the larger the α angle, the higher the axial load capacity. The angle size is expressed by the calculation coefficient e; the larger the e value, the larger the contact angle, and the greater the applicability of the bearing to bear axial loads.

Tapered roller bearings are usually separable, that is, the tapered inner ring assembly consisting of an inner ring with a roller and cage assembly can be installed separately from the tapered outer ring (outer ring).

The outer ring (or inner ring) of a double-row tapered roller bearing is a whole. The small end faces of the two inner rings (or outer rings) are close, and there is a spacer in the middle. The clearance is adjusted by the thickness of the spacer, and the thickness of the spacer can also be used to adjust the pre-interference of the double-row tapered roller bearing.

Four-row tapered roller bearings have the same performance as double-row tapered roller bearings, but they can withstand greater radial loads and have a slightly lower limit speed than double-row tapered roller bearings. They are mainly used in heavy machinery.