Abstract <p>The effect of residual stresses on surface and subsurface fatigue fracture under rolling and sliding friction is studied by analyzing internal stresses during rolling and sliding of an elastic cylinder against an elastic half-plane with residual stresses in the subsurface. The macroscopic approach is used to calculate the accumulated contact fatigue damage for different types of residual stress distribution in the subsurface layer and for various contact conditions (friction coefficient, relative slip, etc.). Compressive and tensile residual stresses, which are either constant across the subsurface layer of a given thickness or decrease linearly to zero in it, are considered. It is shown that compressive residual stresses cause a decrease in the equivalent stress amplitude in the subsurface of the half-plane under both sliding and rolling friction. They also decrease the rate of fatigue damage accumulation in the subsurface layers of the friction pair. The obtained results can be used to develop methods for controlling the contact fatigue fracture in the subsurface layers of the friction pair under rolling and sliding friction by inducing the appropriate residual stresses in the interacting materials.</p>