The influence of viscoelasticity on the performance of statically and dynamically loaded journal bearings is considered. The lubricant in the system is modelled using either the Oldroyd-B or linear PTT models. Significant viscoelastic effects are presented for both moderate and narrow gap journal bearing configurations. The dynamical behaviour of the journal bearing system is shown to be dependent on the fluid model, the relaxation time and also the gap size. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.