Mechanical and analytical tools were used to characterize the coatings on a magnetic recording disk. The mechanical and tribological properties of the coating were evaluated using the nano-indentation and nano-scratch tests. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and the Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) were used to determine the thickness and elemental compositions of the coating layers, while the atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to study the surface topology and roughness. It was shown that the disk surface had a texture preferentially oriented along the circumferential direction with fairly uniform summit height and little waviness. The variations of surface roughness data were analyzed statistically, based on the Gaussian probability and Weibull cumulative probability theories. The coefficient of friction and the surface roughness were found to depend on scan direction relative to the coating texture. The hardness and elastic modulus were strongly influenced by the coating/substrate interaction and the surface roughness of the coating.