A novel supersonic plasma spraying was used to prepare rare earth oxide added Cr3C2-NiCr coatings. X-ray diffractometer, contact surface profiler, hardness tester, micro-friction and -wear tester, environmental scanning electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy were employed to investigate the phase structure, surface morphology, microhardness, and friction properties of deposited coatings, respectively. The results show that surface roughness, microhardness, brittle fracture, friction extent and wear resistance of rare earth oxide added Cr3C2-NiCr coatings are effectively improved compared with that of unadded one. The friction and friction mechanism are also discussed. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.