The objective of the present work is to investigate the morphology, structure and local chemistry of TiN produced by CVD on a 316L stainless steel substrate, chemically etched in situ by using gaseous HCl. The samples were obtained by a reduced pressure CVD process at temperatures of 1173 and 1273 K. The microstructural, chemical characterization and texture of the TiN coatings were performed by using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), discharge glow spectroscopy (GDEOS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. It was determined that the coatings obtained presented a stoichiometric composition and the interface was free of any contaminants. As the concentration of TiCl 4 increased the texture of the coatings presented a stronger component along the 110 planes and a minor component along 111 planes. In general, large grain sizes were obtained due to a reduced pressure in the system, high temperature employed during the deposition process and subsequent annealing. The grain size of the TiN crystallites becomes smaller as the partial pressure of TiCl 4 decreases. The STEM studies have shown the presence of two kinds of grain structures: a region close to the interface with very fine equiaxed grains from which tall steep columnar grains have been nucleated. The structure observed was dense and without pores.