The polyamide (PA) composite coating filled with the particles of microsized MoS2, microsized graphite, and nano-Al2O3, respectively, were prepared by flame spraying. The friction and wear characteristics of the PA coating and composite coating filled with the varied content of filler under dry sliding against stainless steel were comparatively investigated using a block-ring tester. The morphologies of the worn surfaces and transfer films on the counterpart steel ring were observed on a scanning electron microscope. The result showed that the addition of fillers to the composite coatings changed significantly the friction coefficient and wear rate of the coatings. The composite coatings filled with a low level content of fillers showed lower wear rate than did pure PA coating under dry sliding; especially the MoS2/PA composite coating had the lowest wear rate among these composite coatings. The composite coatings with a high level content of fillers had higher wear rate than did pure PA coating, except of the Al2O3/PA composite coating. The bonding strengths between the polymer matrix and fillers changed with the content of the fillers, which accounted for the differences in the tribological properties of the composite coatings filled with the varied content fillers. On the other hand, the difference in the friction and wear behaviors of the composite coatings and pure coating were attributed to the difference in their worn surface morphologies and transfer film characteristics. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.