Abstract: The surface texture of as-obtained TiN films prepared by multi-arc ion plating technique on steel substrate was produced with Q-switched solid-state Nd:YAG laser. Surface morphologies and dimple parameter of the textured TiN films were characterized using the scanning electron microcopy and a surface profilometer. The effect of textured morphologies on friction and wear performance of TiN films under dry friction condition was investigated by a UMT-2 reciprocating ball-on-disk tribometer. The results showed that the average friction coefficient and wear rate of textured films were lower than those of the untextured film, which revealed better friction-reducing and anti-wear properties for textured films. Based on the analyses of the surface morphologies and chemical element composition in the wear tracks, the wear mechanism was discussed. The better tribological performance of textured TiN films was attributed to the dimples trapping the wear debris and ramp motion migrating wear debris out of the friction track during the sliding process.