Pitting wear is a dominant from of polyethylene surface damage in total knee replacements, and may originate from surface cracks that propagate under repeated tribological contact. In this study, stress intensity factors, K$\_$I/and $_{4}$, were calculated for a surface crack in a polyethylene-CoCr-bone system under the rolling and/or sliding contact pressures. Crack length and load location were considered in determination of probable crack propagation mechanisms and fracture modes. Positive K$\_$I/ values were obtained for shorter cracks in rolling contact and for all crack lengths when the sliding load was apart from the crack. $_{4}$ was the greatest when the load was directly adjacent to the crack (g/a=${pm}$1). Sliding friction caused a substantial increase of both K$\_$I/$^$max/ and $_{4}$$^$max/. The effective Mode I stress intensity factors, K$\_$eff/, were the greatest at g/a=${pm}$1, showing the significance of high shear stresses generated by loads adjacent to surface cracks. Such behavior of K$\_$eff/ suggests mechanisms for surface pitting by which surface cracks may propagate along their original plane under repeated rolling or sliding contact.