Contact-endurance and wear tests were performed on gears lubricated by one synthetic and five mineral oils. The test gears were made of steel 12KhN3A, case-hardened, and heat-treated to high hardness. A working formula is proposed for determination of the wear rate and a coefficient that takes account of the physicochemical properties of the oils and the thickness of the oil film in the contact, for use in calculating the contact endurance of tooth working surfaces.