Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were deposited using metal arc under different experimental conditions. The ultra microhardness and load-displacement curves show that the typical hardness values of the deposited films range from 10 to 100 GPa. The detailed relationship between the sp 3 structure and the D peak observed in the Raman spectra is investigated. For further studies, the C1s binding energy was determined employing X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Our results disclose that DLC films with very different sp 3 structures may exhibit similar D Raman peaks.