The present invention is directed to bearings produced from a silicon nitride material. The silicon nitride material consists of a sintering aid selected from the group consisting of Al.sub.2O.sub.3 and Y.sub.2O.sub.3, silicon dioxide, and optionally, up to 10 mole %, based on the amount of silicon nitride, of an additive that reacts with silicon nitride, said additive selected from the group consisting of TiO.sub.2, WO.sub.3, MoO.sub.3 and mixtures thereof.