The starved thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication model of a helical gear pair was established,and the influence of inlet supply oil,input speed and tooth surface roughness on the lubrication performance was discussed.The results show that,with the increase of oil supply,the friction coefficient,temperature rise and subsurface stress are decreased while the film thickness is increased.The lubrication performance of starved lubrication gradually tends to that of fully flooded lubrication with the further increase of oil supply.The input speed has a significant influence on the lubrication of starved lubrication in a certain speed range.As the input speed goes up,the film thickness and temperature rise and the subsurface stress are increased.Due to the tooth surface roughness,it results in severe pressure fluctuations and stress concentration occurs on the subsurface at pressure peaks.