A cam follower for the valve gear of an internal combustion engine has a roller (7) fitted on a shaft (5) via roller bearings (6) and contacted by a cam (8). To prevent edge bearing, according to the invention the inner track (11) of the roller (7) is convex in longitudinal cross-section so that the point of greatest load (12) is shifted to the uncritical region for the cam follower between the roller (7) and roller bearings (6). This provides a linear contact between the roller (7) and the cam (8).