Cr-C-N coatings with different compositions, i.e. (C + N)/Cr atomic ratios (x) of 0.81-2.77, were deposited using pulsed closed field unbalanced magnetron sputtering by varying the chromium and graphite target powers, the pulse configuration and the ratio of the nitrogen flow rate to the total gas flow rate. Three kinds of nanostructures were identified in the Cr-C-N coatings dependent on the x values: a nanocolumnar structure of hexagonal closed-packed (hcp) Cr-2(C,N) and face-centered cubic (fcc) Cr(C,N) at x = 0.81 and 1.03 respectively, a nanocomposite structure consisting of nanocrystalline Cr(C,N) embedded in an amorphous C(N) matrix at x = 1.26 and 1.78, and a Cr-containing amorphous C(N) structure at x = 2.77. A maximum hardness of 31.0 GPa and a high H/E ratio of 1.0 have been achieved in the nc-Cr(C. N)/a-C(N) nanocomposite structure at x = 1.26, whereas the coating with a Cr-containing amorphous C(N) structure had a minimum hardness of 10.9 GPa and a low H/E ratio of 0.08 at x = 2.77. The incorporation of carbon into the Cr-N coatings led to a phase transition from hcp-Cr-2(C,N) to fcc-Cr(C,N) by the dissolution into the nanocrystallites, and promoted the amorphization of Cr-C-N coatings with the precipitation of amorphous C(N). It was found that a high x value over 1.0 in the Cr-C-N coatings is the composition threshold to the nanostructure transition. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.