Abstract Seismic isolation design is an effective and economical method to protect precast viaducts from severe earthquake damage. Correct selection of bearings is one of the common methods to achieve this goal. In order to optimize the vibration isolation performance of prefabricated viaducts, this paper compares the vibration isolation performance of lead rubber bearings (LRB) and laminated bearings (LB). The lead rubber bearing (LRB) and laminated bearing are respectively applied to the same analysis model of prefabricated viaduct. The seismic responses of bearings and structural members are analyzed by dynamic analysis method, and the typical seismic responses, including internal force, displacement, hysteresis curve and residual deformation, are compared. The results show that LRB has higher isolation efficiency and better self centering ability.