Hydrodynamic oil bearings applied at elevated temperatures and extreme operating conditions are subjected to the problem of oil degradation. In order to overcome such conditions, dry powder lubricants are used as lubricants in the hydrodynamic journal bearings. Thus the problem of thermal degradation of oil at high temperatures can be eliminated. In this work, the static and dynamic characteristics of a symmetric three-lobed bearing lubricated with powdered particles have been predicted. Influence of the ellipticity ratio on the performance of the three-lobed bearing has also been investigated. It is observed that an increase in the ellipticity ratio increases the coefficient of friction and stability, but decreases the side leakage and the load carrying capacity of the three-lobed bearing. Also, it was observed that the large-sized powdered particles induce better load carrying capacity and better stability than the small-sized particles. © IMechE 2020.