A new type of self-compensated conical hydrostatic bearing for precision rotary table was designed, manufactured and tested. The design formulas were derived based on flow equilibrium, and the optimal stiffness was obtained both from the axial and the radial directions. The effect of manufacturing error on the performance was investigated, and the stiffness and revolution accuracy was experimentally tested. Results show that the bearing stiffness is influenced by the resistance ratio between the restricting gap, the bearing gap and the inner flow coefficient between pockets; the resistance ratio has an optimal value, and a little value of the inner flow coefficient is favorable to the stiffness; the model considering manufacturing errors can effectively predict the range of the bearing stiffness. 