This paper investigated the design methods and optimization of the hydrodynamic thrust bearings. The thrust bearings according to the shape of oil pads have three types, which are stepped-land, pocket and tapered-land.For numerical computation, substituting known conditions and design parameters into the characteristic equations can obtain the characteristic parameters of bearings, which are the film thickness height, friction power, temperature, flow etc. In this paper, we planned the characteristic parameters calculation and optimal characteristic parameters calculation to obtain the changes in characteristic parameters of bearing corresponding to the design parameters. And we compare the optimal results for the three types of oil pads in the same conditions. The tapered-land is the best,which has high film thickness height and low friction power.