The present work deals specifically with the development of zirconium oxide thin film coatings on the stainless steel orthodontic bracket system by sputtering technique. Thin films of zirconium oxide have been deposited on injection molded stainless steel substrates using sputtering under controlled temperature and environment conditions. The deposited films, 1.5 mu m in thickness, were found to have a predominantly tetragonal structure with grain size of about 5 nm. The grain size was found to increase only slightly with increasing heat treatment time at 650 degrees C. It has been shown that thin-film zirconia coatings with stable structure and good adhesion along with very low friction coefficient could be produced.