Ion source assisted cathodic arc ion-plating was used to synthesize molybdenum containing diamond-like carbon films. The element of molybdenum is uniformly distributed in our sample as analyzed by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy. The surface morphology of the films was analyzed by scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope. The structure and bond state of the molybdenum containing diamond-like carbon films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectra, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The Mo content in the films was controlled by varying of the acetylene gas flow rates. The root-mean square roughness of the asdeposited sample was found in the range of 1.5 nm. The hardness of 35 GPa has been achieved at the optimum conditions of synthesis. This can be attributed to formation multilayer structure during deposition process and the formation of hard molybdenum carbide phase with C=Mo bonding. The results show that ion source assisted cathodic arc ion-plating is an effective technique to fabricate metal-containing carbon films with controlled metal contents. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.