TiN coatings with 0.1〜2μm thickness were formed on stainless steel using an ion beam and vapor deposition (IVD) technique. Their friction and wear behavior was examined on the reciprocated sliding against an alumina ball and the scratching by a diamond cone. In the sliding test, no catastrophic flaking of the TiN layers was found, because the coated thin TiN was rather ductile and also had high adhesion with the steel substrate. A gentle, successive rubbing-off with joining of small-scale peeling of the layers seemed to be a dominant wear behavior. A possible mechanism for the fine peeling formation was suggested, as a result of three-dimensional FEM analysis on shear stress and strain around contact region in the scratching by the rigid cone.