The present study describes and compares the mechanical and tribological properties of CrN coatings deposited by PVD/CAPD (Cathodic Arc Plasma Deposition) on three different substrates: steel, aluminium alloy and reinforced aluminium alloy. The coating-substrate interfaces were analysed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The ultra-microindentation technique was applied to measure coating hardness. Experiments using a tribometer (pin on disc configuration) under lubricated conditions have been performed in order to evaluate the friction and wear properties of the different systems.The measured coating hardness depends on the indentation depth reached in the ultra-microindentation tests. In this study the coating-substrate system has been characterized, analyzing the hardness variation from the coating to the substrate by different indentation depths, and modelling the experimental curve with a universally approved mathematical model. The CrN–steel system exhibits the best performance, in which the system hardness is close to the CrN coating hardness. The CrN–AMC system performs better than CrN–aluminium but worse than CrN–steel system.