NiWP alloy coatings were prepared by electrodeposition, and the effects of ferrous chloride ( $$\hbox {FeCl}_{2})$$ FeCl 2 ) , sodium tungstate ( $$\hbox {Na}_{2}\hbox {WO}_{4})$$ Na 2 WO 4 ) and current density ( $$D_{\mathrm{K}}$$ D K ) on the properties of the coatings were studied. The results show that upon increasing the concentration of $$\hbox {FeCl}_{2}$$ FeCl 2 , initially the Fe content of the coating increased and then tended to be stable; the deposition rate and microhardness of coating decreased when the cathodic current efficiency ( $$\eta $$ η ) initially increased and then decreased; and for a $$\hbox {FeCl}_{2}$$ FeCl 2 concentration of $$3.6\, \hbox {g\,l}^{-1}$$ 3.6 g l - 1 , the cathodic current efficiency reached its maximum of 74.23%. Upon increasing the concentration of $$\hbox {Na}_{2}\hbox {WO}_{4}$$ Na 2 WO 4 , the W content and microhardness of the coatings increased; the deposition rate and the cathode current efficiency initially increased and then decreased. The cathodic current efficiency reached the maximum value of 70.33% with a $$\hbox {Na}_{2}\hbox {WO}_{4}$$ Na 2 WO 4 concentration of 50 g $$\hbox {l}^{-1}$$ l - 1 , whereas the deposition rate is maximum at 8.67 $$\upmu \hbox {m}\,\hbox {h}^{-1}$$ μ m h - 1 with a $$\hbox {Na}_{2}\hbox {WO}_{4}$$ Na 2 WO 4 concentration of $$40\, \hbox {g\,l}^{-1}$$ 40 g l - 1 . Upon increasing the $$D_{\mathrm{K}}$$ D K , the deposition rate, microhardness, Fe and W content of the coatings increased, the cathodic current efficiency increases first increased and then decreased. When $$D_{\mathrm{K}}$$ D K was 4 A dm $$^{-2}$$ - 2 , the current efficiency reached the maximum of 73.64%.