Solid lubrication composite MoS2 films were prepared on the surface of AISI 1045 steel by a two-step method of multi-arc ion plating Mo and low temperature ion sulfuration. The tribological properties of the composite MoS2 films were investigated on a ball-on-disc wear tester under oil lubrication. AFM and SEM were adopted to analyze their morphologies and compositions of surface, cross-section and wear traces. XRD was utilized to analyze the phase structure and SAM was employed to detect the element variation of film with depth. In the composite MoS2 films, the MoS2 was dominant on the surface and the molybdenum was dominant in the inside. The wear results showed that this film possesses excellent tribological properties. In extreme condition, the failure mechanism of the composite MoS, film was flaking off. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.