Two kinds of NiO-YSZ (yttria-stabilized zirconia) coatings, respectively with uniform and gradient distributions of NiO content along the coating thickness direction, were prepared by electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) via adjusting electron beam currents. Then uniform and graded Ni-YSZ coatings were obtained from corresponding NiO-YSZ coatings after a reduction treatment. For uniform Ni-YSZ coating, the composition and porosity distributions along the coating thickness were uniform. The specific surface area and total pore volume for this coating could reach up to 4.330 m(2) g(-1) and 0.0346 cm(3) g(-1) respectively. The area specific resistance (ASR) of this coating kept increasing with the rise in temperature and an ASR of 2.1 x 10(-5)Omega cm(2) was obtained at 600 degrees C. For graded Ni-YSZ coating, a gradient in Ni content and porosity was realized along the coating thickness. A high porosity of up to 33% was achieved in the part of the coating close to the substrate, while a low porosity of 10% was obtained in the part close to coating surface. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.