Abstract: The various tool coating materials which can be divided into hard coating and soft coating are described based on recent development of tool coating technology. Yarious structures of coating materials and their preparation methods are summarized. Tool coating preparation methods consist of chemical vapor deposition method (CYD),physical vapor deposition method (PYD),Plasma chemical vapor deposition method (PCYD) and (Sol-Gel) method. The technological research status and the development trends of tool coating are introduced.