The invention relates to a shaft bearing assembly and also to an industrial gear unit (30) comprising this bearing assembly. The bearing assembly (34) comprises two taper roller bearings mounted axially spaced apart on the shaft (35) with the bearings orientated in an O arrangement in which the rollers of each bearing increase in diameter in the direction away from the other bearing of the pair. In a gear unit (30) the outer cup of the taper roller bearing may be located by an abutment shoulder (32) formed in the housing (11) whilst the inner cone of the taper roller may be located by a lock nut (40) on a threaded end portion of the shaft (35) or by a circlip (61) disposed in annular groove in the shaft (35).