CrC and NbC carbide coatings both have good mechanical properties, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance. The present study seeks to combine the two coating systems in order to further enhance their properties. NbCrC x and NbCrC xN y coatings (where x and y denote the atomic percentages of carbon and nitrogen, respectively) were deposited on SKH51 substrates using a radio-frequency unbalanced magnetron sputtering system. The mechanical, tribological, and corrosive properties of the coatings were investigated and compared. Among the NbCrC x coatings, the NbCrC 61 coating showed high levels of hardness, excellent adhesion strength, and good wear resistance. Among the NbCrC xN y coatings, the NbCrC 55N 5 coating showed high adhesion strength and hardness and excellent tribological properties. However, for nitrogen contents greater than 16 at%, the adhesion strength was dramatically reduced, resulting in poor tribological performance. Among all of the coatings, the NbCrC 49 coating showed the best corrosion resistance due to its enhanced crystallinity, high adhesion strength, moderate surface roughness, and high sp 3 C-C bonding ratio.