Friction minimization is an important topic which is pursued in research and industry. In addition to the use of lubricants, friction-reducing oxide phases can be utilized which occur during. These oxides are called Magneli phases and especially vanadium oxides exhibit good friction reducing properties. Thereby, the lubrication effect can be traced back to oxygen deficiencies. AlCrN thin films are being used as coatings for tools which have to withstand high temperatures. A further improvement of AlCrN thin films concerning their friction properties is possible by incorporation of vanadium. This study analyzes the temperature dependent oxidation behavior of magnetron sputtered AlCrVN thin films with different vanadium contents up to 13.5 at.-% by means of X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy. Up to 400 degrees C the coatings show no oxidation. A higher temperature of 700 degrees C leads to an oxidation and formation of Magneli phases of the coatings with vanadium contents above 10.7 at.-%. Friction coefficients, measured by ball-on-disk test are correlated with the oxide formation in order to figure out the effect of vanadium oxides. At 700 degrees C a decrease of the friction coefficient with increasing vanadium content can be observed, due to the formation of VO2, V2O3 and the Magneli phase V4O7. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.