An experimental and numerical study of early fatigue failure due to dents in EHL contacts is presented. Tests are conducted on a two-disk machine with different operating conditions. Disks are made of AISI 52100 bearing steel. The surface of one disk is smooth. The other one is initially indented by M50 steel powder using the procedure presented in previous papers (1), (2). The oil is a synthetic one qualified under the MIL-L-23699 specification. The lubricant is cleaned during tests by using a β3μm= 200 cleaning filter. An optical microscope and a profilometer are used to describe the dent evolution, as the tests are stopped at regular intervals.