Bearing typeabrasionresistant sleeve made of a material called bearing bushing, the bushing. It is usually cast on the inner surface of the axle bush, in order to reduce the cost and save valuable material for reducing wear. Thickness 0.5-6mm for large size or important bearings. Bearing bushing is mainly to replace the wear of the shaft, in addition, it also has the function of supporting shaft running, reducing friction and wear, and reducing vibration.

The earliest sliding and rolling bearings are made of wood. Ceramic, glass or sapphire are also used, steel, copper and other metals (such as plastic, nylon, bakelite, Teflon and UHMWPE) have been widely used.

From heavy wheel axle and machine tool spindle to precise clock parts, rotating bearings are required on many occasions. The simplest rotating bearing is a bushing bearing, which is only a bushing sandwiched between the wheel and the wheel shaft. This design is then replaced by a rolling bearing, which uses a lot of cylindrical rollers instead of the original bushes, each of which is like a single wheel. The first practical rolling bearing with a cage was invented by watch John Harrison in 1760 for the production of H3 chronograph.

An ancient Rome ship found in Lake Italy found an example of early ball bearings. This wooden ball bearing is used to support the rotating desktop. The ship was built in 40 BC. It is said that Leonardoda Da Finch once described a ball bearing in about 1500. Of the various immature factors of the ball bearing, it is important that the collision occur between the balls, causing additional friction. But you can put the ball into a small cage to prevent this phenomenon. In seventeenth Century, Galileo gave the earliest description of "fixed ball" or "cage ball" ball bearings. But for a long time, the installation of bearings on the machine has not been realized. The first patent on the gutter was obtained by Philip Vaughan of Carmarthen in 1794.

In 1883, Friedrich Fisher proposed the idea of using a suitable production machine to grind steel balls of the same size and roundness. This lays the foundation for the creation of an independent bearing industry. The first letter combination of "Fischers Automatische Gu? Stahlkugelfabrik" or "Fischer Aktien-Gesellschaft" later became a trademark and registered in July 29, 1905. In 1962, the trademark of FAG was modified and used to the present and became an inseparable part of the company in 1979.

In 1907, Sven Winquist, the SKF bearing factory, designed the earliest modern self aligning ball bearings.