Chromium coatings on brass substrates produced by the physical vapour deposition process with layer thicknesses of 0·3–5 μm have been investigated with regard to the structural, mechanical, and chemical properties of the layer and coated system. The Cr layers have a fine columnar structure with a crystallite size between 10 and 20 nm as determined by X-ray measurements. The conical columnar shaped crystals made visible by scanning tunnelling microscopy exhibit column diameters in the range 20–60 nm at the surface.The microhardness of the coated system under load HL was 15 000–25 000 MPa, twice as high as that of the substrate. In the scratch test of the coated system cohesive destruction of the coatings was observed a critical load values of 0·1–0·4 N. In corrosion tests the Cr coatings produced by stationary sputtering were mainly dense but occasionally slightly porous. The anodic current density-potential curves for dense Cr films (thickness ∼ 5 μm) are discussed in comparison with several other Cr based materials.