The effectiveness of numerous surface treatments and protective coatings in wear problems arising in contacting machine parts is well documented. However, for many components operating under severe wear conditions, the conventional coating techniques are often unable to ensure adequate long term tribological performance. For this reason, a new wear-resistant coating has been developed using a high power laser beam as a heat source to melt a suitable mixture of metallic elements and compounds and to bind this mixture onto the substrate. The mixture was selected from powdered metals and carbides of known high intrinsic wear resistance and good metallurgical compatability, such as chromium carbides, chromium, nickel and molybdenum. A series of mixtures with different percentages of the foregoing components was investigated in order to determine the influence of composition on the resulting coating properties, such as hardness level and resistance to cracking. A proper powder deposition procedure was also developed, which employed suitable binders to obtain good adhesion before and during laser treatment. Laser processing was carried out by means of a continuous working CO2 source operating up to a maximum power of 15 kW. The processing parameters were optimized in order to obtain homogeneous and uniform surface layers up to 1 mm thick. Microstructural characterization of the coatings showed excellent bonding to the base materials (e.g. cast iron and superalloys), a uniform distribution of all the elements present throughout the layer, and no undesired porosity. In particular, a favourable dispersion of elements was observed in the zones of the base material near the interface, which resulted in a gradual transition of the microstructure with no abrupt change of hardness. Depending on the relative concentration of the components and on the laser processing parameters, different maximum surface hardness values (up to 1000 HV) and different hardness profiles could be obtained. In the case of mechanical components, which require low friction and operate under critical lubrication conditions, a suitable surface porosity for lubricant retainment can noticeably improve the tribological behaviour of contacting parts. Consequently, the laser processing was modified to introduce an artificial porosity A series of laboratory wear tests were carried out to evaluate the behaviour of the different coatings.