An investigation was carried out on the effect of oil starvation on lubrication behavior. Lubrication will enter the region of starved elastohydrodynamic lubrication or even the parched elastohydrodynamic lubrication region if the oil supply is strictly controlled or limited. Starvation contributes to a decrease in film thickness, while parching results in oil film transients and even extreme film thinning. Using two criteria, these two types of elastohydrodynamic lubrication can be determined, and for this purpose two regression equations are given to simplify the calculation. The analysis can be used to design oil-impregnated retainers in space bearings with very small amounts of oil.