AbstractIn a 7206 C high‐speed, mist‐lubricated ball‐bearing, both the film thickness and lubricant parameter λ in ball—race tribo‐systems have been analytically investigated in terms of starvation and thermal effects, and good correlations with experimental results were obtained for 5,000 to 35,000 rpm rotational speeds. Including a lubricant parameter in ball—race tribosystems as a safety criterion for ball‐bearings, friction losses, temperature, and limit speeds have been correlated with this criterion for a 7206 C ball‐bearing. Friction losses in ball‐outer race tribosystems have been computed for both EHD and mixed lubrication regimes. The influence of the bricant parameter on friction losses has been shown both theoretically and experimentally. A new speed limit concept including the lubricant parameter λ, has been developed by the authors.