Abstract: Small spring-supported thrust bearing, advantageous in great bearing capacity and good heat dissipation, is widely used in the hydro turbine. To study this type of bearing, we calculated three-dimensional thermo-elastic hydrodynamic lubrication and developed a new method of equivalent spring stiffness. And we examined the influences of the thrust pad's elastic deformation and thermal deformation and the spring's compression deformation, including the factors of thrust bearing performance, i.e. rotation speed, initial temperature, thickness of thrust pad, etc. This paper presents the results and a discussion on the relationship of bearing performance versus different arrangement of the spring and comes to a conclusion that the performance depends on the number of springs in the oil region and central thrust pad's radial region and the number should be optimized at the design stage.