Fullerene-like carbon nitride films exhibit high elastic modulus and low friction coefficient. In this study, thin CNx films were deposited on silicon substrate by DC magnetron sputtering and the tribological behavior at nanoscale was evaluated using an atomic force microscope. Results show that CNx films with fullerene-like structure have a friction coefficient (CoF similar to 0.009-0.022) that is lower than amorphous CNx films (CoF similar to 0.028-0.032). Analysis of specimens characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows that films with fullerene-like structure have a higher number of sp(3) CN bonds and exhibit the best mechanical properties with high values of elastic modulus (E > 180 GPa) and hardness (H > 20 GPa). The elastic recovery determined on specimens with a fullerene-like CNx structure was of 95% while specimens of amorphous CNx structure had only 75% elastic recovery. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.