TiC, TiN, and SiC reinforced Ti3Al intermetallic matrix composite (IMC) coatings were in situ synthesized on a pure Ti substrate by laser cladding. It was found that the surface hardness and the wear resistance of the Ti3Al coating were improved by the formation of these Ti3Al IMC coatings. The surface hardness and the wear resistance of the TiC/Ti3Al IMC coatings increased with the increasing volume fraction of TiC powder. Under the same dry sliding test conditions, the wear resistance of TiC, TiN, and SiC reinforced Ti3Al IMC coatings with 40 vol.% reinforced powder was in the following order: TiN/Ti3Al IMC coating > TiC/Ti3Al IMC coating > SiC/Ti3Al IMC coating. It should be noted that both the TiC/Ti3Al IMC coating with 40 vol.% TiC powder and the TiN/Ti3Al coating with 40 vol.% TiN powder showed excellent wear resistance under 5 N normal load. (C) 2008 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.