The duplex treatment of plasma Ti-alloying and plasma nitriding was applied on the surface of C17200 alloy to improve its wear resistance. C17200 substrate was alloyed with Ti using double glow plasma alloying to form a Ti-alloyed layer in its surface, and then treated by plasma nitriding to make a TiN(Ti2N) alloying layer based on the Ti-alloyed surface. The microstructure and formation mechanism were studied by using GDOES, XRD and SEM. The hardness, tribological property and electrical conductivity of C17200 alloy after plasma alloying and nitriding were investigated by mean of micro-hardness tester, friction and wear testers as well as impedance analyzers. Modulus of elasticity and the adhesive strength of TiN(Ti2N)/Ti composite layer were evaluated by nano-indenter and scratch tester. The result shows that a TiN(Ti2N)-Ti-Be-Cu composite layer with a thickness of 27 mu m is formed in the C17200 surface and is mainly composed of TiN, Ti2N, Cu(Ti) solid solution, etc. The composite alloying surface consists of the hard TiN(Ti2N)-rich layer on the top surface and Ti-Cu-Be diffusion layer, showing a strong adhesive strength with the C17200 substrate and a little decrease in the modulus of elasticity. A certain amount of Cu and Be together with TiN/Ti2N exists in the outmost, resulting in a better combination of wear resistance and conductive performance. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.