In this paper, multilayer coatings of TiN/TiCN/Al2O3/TiN are deposited on the Ti(C, N)-based cermets containing WC, and the effect of WC on the growth and adhesion strength as well as the mechanical properties of the coating are investigated. The multilayer coatings deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) are uniform and dense. TiN coating exhibits a dense fine-grained structures and the Ti (C,N) on TiN coating shows dense columnar structure. The α-Al2O3 layer deposited on transition coating presents coarse grains with limited voids. The grain size of the columnar crystals deposited on the substrates gradually decreases with WC addition. The Al2O3 layer shows a preferred growth orientation of (104) plane. For TiN/TiCN phase, a change in orientation from (111) to (200) is observed. Generally, the (200) preferred orientation enhances and (111) preferred orientation diminishes with increasing WC addition. Strong adhesion of the CVD coating is obtained due to a sufficient amount of chemical elements, especially tungsten, diffusing from the substrate to the interfacial layer. Scratch tests show that the adhesion strength of TiN/TiCN/Al2O3/TiN films gradually increases firstly, and then decreases. With the addition of WC, the hardness, elastic modulus and plasticity index increase at the beginning, and then decrease. The change in nanohardness and elastic modulus is related to the grain size, elemental diffusion, and preferred orientation of the coating.