In the present study, a multilayer composing of Cr(3)Ni(2)/Cr(2)N/CrN is sputtered onto stainless steel. The potential of using the coated stainless steel as the bipolar plate for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is evaluated. The coated stainless steel exhibits improved corrosion resistance and higher electrical conductivity. The coated surface also demonstrates a hydrophobic characteristic. By using single cell test, the multilayer-coated SS304 plate exhibits an improved performance in terms of I-V properties. (C) 2010 Professor T. Nejat Veziroglu. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.