Metal nitrides have many unique proper ties and are widely used in various industries. Coating Ternary nitrides have been investigated in order to answer the increasing need for superior mechanical properties in applications such as molds, punches, cutting tools, press stamps, machine parts for motors and biomedical prostheses. Nowadays The life time and wear resistance of different instruments and industrial parts can be improved by applying a hard thin film coating on their surfaces. In the present study, CrN, TiN and (TiCr)N coatings were deposited at both low and high substrate temperatures (~100, 400 °C) and two different substrate roughnesses on a D6 tool steel substrate. Physical and mechanical properties of coatings such as microstructure, thickness, phase composition, texture, roughness and hardness were studied. Phase composition were studies by X-ray diffraction method. The crystallite size was determined from the X-ray diffraction patterns based on the Scherrer formula. The surface microstructure and morphology were studied using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and coating compositions were determined by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The mechanical properties of thin ?lm coatings can be derived from measuring the load–displacement (loading/unloading) curve by using the Oliver and Pharr method. The friction and wear behavior of the coatings were investigated using ball-on-disc test at room temperature. The WC – 6% Co ball (10 mm diameter) was loaded against the rotating sample with a normal load of 5, 7 and 9 N, while the linear velocity was 0.081 m.s?1 and the sliding distance was 500 m. The mass loss of the disk specimens was measured at a 100 m interval in sliding distance, with an analytical balance with 0.1 mg precision. Atomic force microscope (AFM), scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectroscopy and optical microscope 2D/3D pro?lometry were utilized to invistigate the wear mechanism. The wear tracks were examined optically and by SEM. The results showed that the properties of the coatings such as microstructure, thickness, composition, texture, roughness and hardness are closly related to substrate temperature. Average grain size of the coatings was found in the range of 14 to 20 nm. The mechanical properties (hardness, Young's modulus, stiffness) of TiN coatings were higher than TiCrN and CrN. Wear test results clarified that the wear resistance of (TiCr)N and TiN coatings are better than CrN coating. The dominant wear mechanism was abrasive and tribochemical. Moreover, fatigue and delamination wear mechanisms were observed in TiCrN and CrN coatings, respectively. Keywords: Physical vapor deposition; wear behavior ; TiN, TiCrN , CrN coatings.