In this paper, comparative theoretical studies of the influence of design and operating parameters on the characteristics of an oil-free rotary-vane compressor with traditional and new design scheme are performed. The main system of calculation equations for conducting research is presented. As a result of the theoretical study, it was found that at a rotor speed of an oil-free rotary-vane compressor stage from 1000 rpm to 2000 rpm for the considered variants of design schemes, high values of the coefficient are not provided. The traditional design of an oil-free rotary-vane compressor does not allow for high values of effective energy conversion efficiency (more than 70%). At the same time, the use of a new design scheme in an oil-free rotary-vane compressor makes allows for effective efficiency values at a rotor speed of less than 3000 rpm. Based on the given conditions, namely: λ ≥ 0,8 and ηeff ≥ 0,75, the following design recommendations can be made: ensure the rotor speed n = 3000 rpm, cylinder radius Rc ≥ 0,075 m.