Abstract: To overcome the limitations of 316L stainless steel, such as low hardness and poor wear resistance, a TiC-Fe coating was fabricated on its surface using laser cladding technology. The microstructure, microhardness, phase composition, and friction-wear properties of both the powder and the coating were characterized by means of microhardness tester, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and friction-wear testing machine. The results reveal that the coating is primarily composed of austenite, TiC and ferrite. From the bottom to the top of the cladding layer, the TiC particles exhibit a gradient distribution with an increasing conent, and the hardness rises gradually, which reaches a maximum value of 1966 HV. Some TiC particles undergo fragmentation, dissolution and size reduction, while others grow into elliptical, snowflake-like or fishbone-like morphologies due to the laser-induced thermal effect. The wear depth of the substrate is approximately 22000 nm, whereas that of the coating is about 4000 nm, indicating that the coating effectively enhances the wear resistance of the 316L surface. This study on the TiC-Fe coating holds significant importance for optimizing the surface properties of 316L stainless steel.