Abstract: The water lubricated rubber bearings sometimes work in absent-water conditions.The friction and wear characteristics of the water lubricated rubber/nickel coating pair were tested under dry,wet and water lubrication conditions respectively with the MRH-3 high-speed ring-block friction and wear testing machine.The friction and wear mechanism of the rubber/nickel coating pair under different conditions was analyzed with the help of SEM.The adhesive wear mainly occurred under dry condition,the grain abrasion occurred under wet condition.