Cylindrical roller thrust bearings are designed to accommodate heavy axial loads and impact loads. They must not be subjected to any radial load. The bearings are very stiff and require little axial space.

Cylindrical thrust roller bearings consist of small cylindrical rollers arranged flat with their axes pointing to the axis of the bearing. They give very good carrying capacity and are cheap, but tend to wear due to the differences in radial speed and friction which is higher than with ball bearings.