Hydrodynamic lateral forces acting on circumferentially grooved and tapered pistons in hydraulic piston pumps are analyzed for the case where the axis of piston and cylinder are tilted with each other. The effects of grooves and tilting on lateral force and leakage flowrate are discussed from the analytical solution of one-dimensional Reynolds equation. The analytical solution is in accordance with the numerical solution of two-dimensional Reynolds equation as the number of grooves increases.