Advanced PVD coatings for metal cutting applications must exhibit a multifunctional property profile including high hardness, chemical inertness and high temperature stability. Recently, ternary Al-Cr-O thin films with mechanical properties similar or superior to conventional aluminium oxide thin films have been suggested as potential materials meeting such demands. These coatings can be deposited at moderate temperatures in PVD processes. In this work, new quaternary Al-Cr-O-N coatings are suggested as alternative for offering thin film materials of high strength, hardness and even toughness. A combinatorial approach to the synthesis of Al-Cr-O-N thin films by means of reactive r.f. magnetron sputtering is presented. A thorough phase analysis of deposited coatings covering a wide range of elemental compositions revealed a well-defined phase transition from a corundum-type alpha-(Al(1-x),Cr(x))(2+delta)(O(1-y),N(y))(3) structure to a CrN-type f.c. c.-(Al(1-x),Cr(x))(1+theta)(O(1-y),N(y)) structure as a function of the Al/Cr ratio and the nitrogen gas flow ratio. Detailed results on the coatings composition, constitution and microstructure are discussed compared to ternary Al-Cr-O thin films deposited by reactive r.f. magnetron sputtering under nearly identical conditions. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.