Firstly，according to the lubrication characteristics of tilting pad bearing，a novel three-pad tilting pad bearing with leading edge groove (LEG) was proposed． Secondly，in order to obtain the test parameters of the bearing，a dynamic performance test rig with the functions of automatic data acquisition and real-time data analysis was developed． Then，the temperature characteristics of flooded bearing and LEG bearing were analyzed in a com-parison way，and eight dynamic parameters of tilting pad bearing were obtained respectively via finite difference al-gorithm and frequency sweep excitation test． Finally，the effectiveness of the proposed test method was verified by a comparison between the theoretical results and the test ones． It is found that the developed bearing is of good tempera-ture，stiffness and damping characteristics．