A high wear-resistant gradient coating made of Ni/Co-based alloys on the surface of a Cu alloy substrate was synthesized using a YAG laser induced in situ reaction method. The coating consists of three layers: the first is a Ni-based alloy layer, the second and third are Co-based alloy layers. The microhardness increases gradually from 98 HV in the Cu alloy substrate to the highest level of 876 HV in the third layer. The main phase of the Co-based alloy layer is CoCr(2)(Ni,O)(4), coexisting with the Fe(13)Mo(2)B(5), Cr(Co(Mo, and FeCr(0.29)Ni(0.16)C(0.06) phases. Wear tests indicate that the gradient coating has good bond strength and wear properties with a wear coefficient of 0.31 (0.50 for the Cu alloy substrate). Also, the wear loss of the coating is only 0.01 g after it has been abraded for 60 min, which is only one fifth of that of the Cu alloy of the crystallizer. Wear tests of the gradient coating reveal good adhesive friction and wear properties when sliding against steel under dry conditions. This novel technique may have good application to make an advanced coating on the surface of the Cu alloy crystallizer in a continuous casting process. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.