Abstract: Considering the space constraints and the requirements of fuel cells for compressed air performance, centrifugal compressors are widely used in various industries owing to their compact size and high efficiency. In this paper, a high-speed centrifugal compressor supported by air bearings is designed. To fully understand the performance characteristics of the compressor, an accurate and effective numerical model needs to be established to investigate its aerodynamic performance via numerical simulation. Taking the SRV2 compressor prototype as the research object, numerical simulations of aerodynamic performance are carried out and compared with experimental data. The numerical model is adaptively adjusted and calibrated according to experimental results. Finally, a numerical model that can accurately reflect the aerodynamic performance of the compressor and predict surge and choke phenomena is constructed. On this basis, the air compressor is designed according to the air intake requirements of fuel cells. The compressor performance curve is measured and compared with simulation results, which verifies the accuracy of the proposed numerical method.