The two varieties of thrust bearing most commonly used in automotive applications are the ball and roller types. Ball bearings consist of a number of balls held within two circular rails and can handle a comparatively lower amount of thrust. Tapered roller bearings are similar in appearance, but the cylindrical roller bearings provide more surface area and can handle significantly higher levels of thrust. Both of these types of thrust bearing are commonly used within wheel hubs. Bearings are required for the wheels to rotate while supporting the weight of the vehicle, and the presence of a thrust bearing is necessary because of the inherent axial stresses.

Thrust bearings are a specialized type of bearing designed to handle axial stresses while allowing rotary motion between two different moving parts. Thrust, in this case, actually refers to the axial loads under which such bearings are designed to operate. Some of the different types of thrust bearing include ball, roller, fluid and magnetic. In automotive applications, ball and roller thrust bearings are typically used in wheel hubs, while manual transmissions can utilize what is commonly known as a throw-out bearing as part of the clutch mechanism.