In this paper, a novel type of adaptive loading ball traction drive reducer (AL-BTDR) is proposed and investigated in modeling and efficiency performance. A combination of power flow and equal linear velocity method is developed to evaluate the speed ratio for the first time. Meanwhile, the spin loss at contact areas is also analyzed based on the Hertz contact theory, and a new approach depended on power flow is introduced to establish the efficiency model. By applying the efficiency model, the performance of efficiency with different output torque is calculated, and the distinctions under adaptive loading and constant loading are investigated. The results show that AL-BTDR has an excellent efficiency performance under adaptive loading with a maximum of 91%. Additionally, efficiency is higher under adaptive loading and will not sharply drop when compared with constant loading.