Abstract. In the design of the wheel machine there are problems of selecting the parameters of its engine at a given load on the wheel or determining the optimal normal load at a given wheel parameters. The method of optimization of parameters of a wheel and its loading proceeding from an integral criterion of efficiency is offered. As a criterion, such an indicator as the efficiency of the driving wheel is taken. The article offers mathematical dependences for determining the efficiency, which take into account the wheel slipping, the resistance force due to the soil crumpling and the formation of a track, as well as the tangential force of traction realized by the wheel.