Wear resistance of reactive plasma sprayed TiB2-TiC0.3N0.7 based composite coatings and the as-sprayed coating with laser surface treatment was investigated using plate-on-plate tests. Wear tests were performed at different normal loads and sliding speeds under dry sliding conditions in air. The surface morphologies of counterparts against as-sprayed and laser remelted coatings were investigated. The microstructure and chemical composition of wear debris and coatings were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), respectively. The results show that the wear resistance of the laser remelted coating is improved significantly due to their increased microhardness and reduced flaws. The primary wear mechanism of the remelted coating is oxidation wear and its minor wear mechanisms are grain abrasion and fatigue failure during the course of wear test. In contrast, the primary wear mechanism of the as-sprayed coating is grain abrasion at the low sliding speed (370 rpm) and fatigue failure at the high sliding speed (549 rpm). The oxidation wear mechanism is a minor contributor for the as-sprayed coating. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.