A Ni-TiO 2 composite film was prepared by electrodeposition containing Ti precursor sol ͑sol-enhanced deposition͒. The electrochemical process, microstructures, and properties of the sol-enhanced and traditional composite coatings were studied and compared. The sol-enhanced Ni-TiO 2 composite coating possessed a smooth surface and a compact microstructure and showed higher mechanical properties ͑430 HV 100 ͒ compared with the traditional coatings ͑360 HV 100 ͒. It is believed that the strengthening effects resulted from the high dispersion of TiO 2 nanoparticles. The sol added coatings also showed slower growth of Ni grains along the ͓220͔ direction but did not change the orientation. It is suggested that the sol addition reduced the thickness of the diffusion layer and increased the limited current density. Therefore, the polarization control in the sol-enhanced process changed from the traditional concentration polarization to electrochemical polarization, avoiding the formation of loose and dendritic structures at high current density.Since the Watts solution was formulated in 1916, Ni electroplating has been a commercially important and versatile surface coating/ finishing process. 1,2 Ni or Ni alloys have been widely deposited on the surfaces of working parts to improve their corrosion and wear resistance or modify magnetic and other properties. 2-4 To achieve better properties, the electrodeposited Ni or Ni alloys were modified by codepositing second-phase particles in the matrix called composite coatings. The traditional composite coating method is a solid particle mixing process: The second-phase particles are suspended in the Ni electroplating solution, and then both the particles and the Ni ions codeposit onto the specimens/parts to form composite coatings. 4 The Ni-based composite coatings were fabricated earlier from suspensions of relatively large ͑typically micrometer level͒ particles of carbides, 5 oxides, 6 diamond, 7 and Teflon. 8,9 More recently, there has been increasing emphasis on codepositing Ni ions and superfine or nanosized particles to synthesize a new structure, i.e., nanocomposite coatings. The superfine/nanoparticles are dispersed into the Ni matrix, providing significantly improved properties, such as hardness and wear resistance. [10][11][12][13][14] The strengthening mechanisms for nanocomposite coatings can be interpreted based on the dislocation model such as the Orowan theory. 15 In this theory, the critical condition for a dislocation to bypass the particles in its glide plane is to bend the dislocation to a semicircle between the particles. The dislocation with its dipoles annihilated can move forward while dislocation loops are left behind, surrounding each particle. 15-17 Orowan's criterion indicates that mechanical properties of composite coatings increase with both decreasing mean planar interparticle spacing and particle size.Based on the above theory, the incorporation of second-phase superfine/nanoparticles can be much more effective than microsized particles in reinfor...