Thermal deformation is affected by the shape, material and surface residual stress of the machined parts. Based on the principle of elastic mechanics and thermodynamics, this paper establishes the thermal deformation model of the bearing ring based on the residual stress and quantitatively calculates the radial deformation produced by the residual stress. The thermal deformation error is less than 3.8%; the results and the experimental data are in good agreement with the mathematical model. This study sets important guidance for precision machining of the joint bearings for robots and the bearings for wind power equipment.