Ti and N co-doped diamond-like carbon ((Ti:N)-DLC) nanomultilayered composite coatings were synthesized by ion source assisted cathodic arc ion-plating at C2H2 and N2 ambient with varying Ti target currents. The compositions, morphologies and microstructures of the coatings were characterized by energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), X-Ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Hardness and friction coefficient were tested by a hardness tester and a ball-on-disc tribometer, respectively. The (Ti:N)-DLC coating consists of uniform TiN, TiC, Ti(C,N) nanocrystallines embedded into N-doped DLC (N-DLC) matrix. With the increase of Ti target current from 20 to 60A, the sp2/sp3 ratio and the contents of TiN, TiC increase obviously, but the Ti(C,N) content sharply decreases. It was revealed that the coating deposited at Ti target current of 50A exhibits the highest hardness (27.8GPa), elastic modulus (491GPa) and low friction coefficient (0.107). Prime novelty statementIn this study, we provide the (Ti:N)-DLC coating consisting of uniform TiN, TiC, Ti(C,N) nanocrystallines embedded into N-DLC matrix using a direct current ion source assisted cathodic arc ion-plating system, and have a detailed study about the influences of Ti target currents on the composition, phase content, microstructure and mechanical properties of (Ti:N)-DLC nanomultilayered composite coatings.