The influence of surface texture on the performance of the journal bearing operating under the transient condition is investigated by a fluid-structure interaction (FSI) approach. The key parameter of the current work is the displacement of the journal as well as the eccentricity ratio which better represents the actual operation of a journal bearing than the traditional approaches that rely on the steady state assumption. The results indicate that depending on its position in the circumferential direction, a surface texture may either enhance or impair the performance of a journal bearing in terms of the generation of the load-carrying capacity.