9Ti-B-C nanocomposite coatings with a B content of 8-17 at. %, have been deposited by 10 magnetron sputtering from B 4 C, Ti, and C targets. X-ray diffraction, photoelectron 11 spectroscopy, and electron microscopy show that the coatings consist of nanocrystalline 12 (nc) TiC:B embedded in a matrix of amorphous (a) C, BC x ,TiO x and BO x . The fraction of 13 amorphous phase scales with the Ti concentration, where the matrix predominantly 14 consists of free C with some BC x in coatings with a C/Ti ratio >1, while the matrix 15 predominantly consists of BC x with some free C in coatings with a C/Ti ratio <1. Nc-16TiC:B/a-BC x /a-C coatings with low amount of free C exhibit a contact resistance 17 comparable to the contact resistance of an Ag sputtered coating at loads of ~1 N against 18 an Au probe, despite the O content of ~16 at. %.