Adhesion, friction, and wear are the three key problems in moving parts of nano/microelectromechanical system devices. Self-assembly technique has become an important route to solve these problems for its construction of lubricants in micro/nano scales. The present work fabricated a composite dual-layer film of polydopamine/gold nanoparticles on silicon. The morphologies, structures, and chemical constitute of the synthesized nanoparticles and the self-assembled films were confirmed by ultraviolet absorption spectrum, transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. To evaluate their micro adhesion forces and macro tribological behaviors of the films, atomic force microscopy and UMT-2M tribometer were employed. The worn surface morphologies of the films and the counterpart steel balls were observed by scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the film has favorable friction reduction and wear resistance ability, which is expected to be applied in nano/microelectromechanical systems. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.