TiAlN coating was prepared on the surface of stainless steel by magnetron sputtering mothed. Indentation and scratch test was used to investigated the adhesion strength of the coating. Results show that the indentation test is only a qualitative test method, and the adhesion strength measured by indentation test reaches HF3 . The results of scratch test show that it is combination of AE signal, frictional force signal and scratch micromorphology. It is a quantitative method for test adhesive strength. When the radius of the Rockwell indenter is 0 . 2 mm, the critical load of TiAlN coating is 13 N, contrast with the traditional TiN coating, the adhesion strength of TiAlN increased by 45 % .