Objective To find out the best design of surface texture and apply it to the surface treatment of friction pair for the purpose of wear resistance and friction reduction, energy conservation and emission reduction. Methods Two kinds of area ratio (10% and 20%) and three different designs of surface texture (circular, elliptical and groove) were designed and manufactured on cast iron specimens by means of laser surface texturing technique. The friction and wear performance of the textured specimens was tested using the high-speed ring-block wear testing machine with oil lubrication. Results Experimental results showed that the surface texture had significant effect on the tribological properties of cast iron, especially in wear rate. Within the three different surface micro textures, the circular dimples on the surface of specimens had the best performance on wear reduction, and the 20% textured surface with circular dimples had smaller wear rate and coefficient of friction than that of 10% textured surface. Conclusion Under the operating condition of this experimental study, 20% textured surface with circular dimples has the most significant improvement on the friction and wear properties of cast iron.