There are two structures: cylindrical hole and conical hole. The cage is made of steel plate, synthetic resin, etc. Its characteristic is that the outer ring raceway is spherical and has self-aligning properties, which can compensate for errors caused by non-concentricity and shaft deflection, but the relative inclination of the inner and outer rings must not exceed 3 degrees.

Aligning ball bearings mainly bear radial loads and can bear smaller axial loads. The axial displacement of the shaft (casing) is limited to the clearance limit, and it has self-aligning performance. It allows normal operation under the condition that the relative inclination of the inner and outer peripheries is not large. It is suitable for components where the bearing hole cannot strictly guarantee coaxiality.