The tribological properties of Ta-implanted H13 steel was studied using a metal vapor vacuum arc (MEVVA) ion source. The doses of Ta and C ions implanted on H13 steel were 5 x 10(17) and 2 x 10(17) cm(-2), respectively. The extraction voltages were 48 kV for Ta implantation and 30 kV for C implantation. Rutherford backscattering spectrum (RBS) was used to measure the surface composition of the samples implanted. The observation of phase induced by Ta, C implantation was carried out by grazing-angle X-ray diffraction (GXRD). The wear test of the implanted surface revealed that Ta + C dual implantation reduced the wear of the implanted steel by nearly a factor of 2. This wear mechanism of the Ta-implanted steel was compared with that of Ti implantation. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.