High power pulsed magnetron sputtering (HPPMS) has attracted much interest due to the large plasma density and high ionization rate of sputtered materials. It is expected to produce a highly ionized C flux from a graphite target but unfortunately, the ionization rate of carbon is still very small and the discharge on a solid carbon target is unstable as well. In this work, a stable discharged chromium target is used in the preparation of chromium-doped diamond-like carbon (Cr-DLC) films in HPPMS in reactive C2H2 gas, but the unstable graphite. The chromium concentration in the Cr-DLC films is limited by surface poisoning due to reactive gas. Less than 2% of Cr is incorporated into the DLC films at C2H2 flow rate of 5 sccm or higher. However, as a result of the high ionization rate of the reactive gas in HPPMS, intense ion bombardment of the substrate is realized. The films show a smooth surface and a dense structure with a large sp(3) concentration. As the C2H2 flow increase, the sp(3) fraction increase and the sp(3) to sp(2) ratio increase to 0.75 at a C2H2 flow rate of 10 sccm. Compared to the substrate, the Cr-DLC films have lower friction and exhibit excellent corrosion resistance. (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V.