Based on the background of the engineering application of automobile mold repair and surface strengthening, the effects of process parameters on the formation and microstructure of laser cladding nickel(Ni)‐based alloy coating were studied. The optimal parameters were: laser power 2000 W, powder feeding rate 15 g/min, scanning speed 4 mm/s. Under this process, the cladding layer and the substrate can exhibit good metallurgical bonding, and the cladding layer has fine crystal grains and a low dilution ratio. On this basis, different mass fractions of niobium carbide (NbC) powder were added to the nickel‐based powder and laser cladding was carried out on the surface of die steel. The phase composition, microstructure, hardness and wear resistance of the coating were studied. The results show that with the increasing of niobium carbide addition, the hardness of the cladding layer decreases, and the wear loss of the cladding layer decreases first and then increases. When the niobium carbide addition reaches 6 wt.%, the wear loss of the cladding layer is the least, and the wear resistance is the best.