Abstract: CrCN coating is deposited on 316 L stainless steel and single crystal silicon by Multi-Arc ion plating technique with ethyne and nitrogen as reactant gas. Microstructures, mechanical performance and tribological properties are systematically investigated by XRD, SEM, nano-indentation, CSM starch tester and Ultra-functional attrition testing machine. The results show that the average roughness of CrCN, Cr/CrCN and CrN/CrCN coating are 77.3 nm, 74.5 nm and 68.1 nm, respectively. The nanohardness and critical load of CrCN, Cr/CrCN and CrN/CrCN coating are 20.5 N, 43 N, 61 N and 17.4 GPa, 21.4 GPa, 24.1 GPa, respectively. Compared with CrCN coating, the nanohardness and critical load of CrN/CrCN coating are enhanced significantly. The CrN interlayer plays an important role to support the CrCN coating which leads to the low friction coefficient and wear ratio of the CrN/CrCN coatings in ambient air, distilled water and seawater.