The sliding wear resistance behavior of Zn-Ni and Zn-Ni/SiO 2 composite coatings were investigated using a sliding wear rig. Wear behavior was mainly evaluated based on weight loss measurements. Effect of applied load and no. of cycles on the weight loss of the coatings were given particular attention. Field Emission Gun Scanning Electron Microscopy (FEGSEM) was used to investigate the wear tracks to determine the prevalent wear mechanisms. It was found that weight loss of Zn-11%Ni/1%SiO 2 was lower than those of Zn-11%Ni and Zn-11%Ni/11%SiO 2 with a constant load of 10N and increasing number of cycles. Their weight loss took the following trend; Zn-11%Ni/1%SiO 2