This paper reports on the investigation of the physical, chemical, optical, mechanical, and tribological properties of reactively sputtered zirconium nitride-inconel composite nanocrystalline mixture films. These films were co-sputtered from a Zr and an inconel targets onto Si (111) substrates at room temperature using a fixed power to the Zr target (P-Zr) and a fixed flow of nitrogen and argon. Two sets of samples were produced by (1) varying the power to the inconel target (P-inc) and using a fixed bias voltage V-b and (2) by varying V-b and keeping P-inc fixed. The elemental composition was deduced from x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and was found to be influenced by P-inc and V-b. X-ray diffraction revealed the presence of nanocrystals of ZrN with a pattern typical of the NaCl structure. The grain size was found to decrease with the increase in "inconel" content in the film. The optical constants were measured using spectroscopic ellipsometry and were subsequently simulated using a Drude-Lorentz model. A correlation between film structure-composition and optical constants was established. The hardness and elastic modulus of each sample were measured by nanoindentation. The hardest films were produced using a V-b=-130 V bias voltage and P-inc=4 W. Microwear measurements were carried out using positive constant normal loads and the wear tracks were imaged and processed. The measured values for the friction coefficients, residual depth of tip indentations, wear volumes, and surface roughness were reported. The lowest recorded wear volume using a load of 4 mN was 10(-3) mu m. Finally, the coatings were worn against ball-bearing steel using a ball-on-disk tribotester. Characterization of the wear tracks were performed by profilometry. A low wear coefficient of 1.7 X 10(-7) mm(3)/s was obtained for a load of 5 N. (c) 2005 American Vacuum Society.