This study presents an analysis of journal bearing lubricated with couple stress fluids considering the effects of a layer adhered to bearing surface. The mohfied classical Reynold's equation is derived considering the effects of surface layer and couple stress fluids. In the present study, the effects of couple stresses on the steady state journal bearing performance characteristics are analyzed based on Stokes micro-continuum theory. The Reynold's boundary conhtions are used in the analysis. Results of non-dimensional load capacity and coefficient of friction are presented. © 2013 Asian Network for Scientific Information.