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In order to reduce the high brittleness of laser clad Fe-B coatings, the composite Fe-Ti-B coating was developed by laser cladding with a powder mixture of B4C and Fe-Ti alloy. The microstructure, hardness and cracking resistance of these coatings were investigated in this paper. The experimental work enables the following findings to be reached: (i) the needle-like TIE, whiskers could be synthesized in situ using the laser cladding method in the composite Fe-Ti-B coating. (ii) The size, shape and volume fractions of TiB2 whiskers in the composite coating are greatly dependent upon powder compositions (contents of B, Ti elements and the ratio of B/Ti elements) and the laser energy density used. The average ratio of width/length for the synthesized TiB2 whiskers increases with increasing laser energy density and ratio of B/Ti elements in this coating. (iii) Both the hardness and cracking resistance of the Fe-B laser clad coating could be improved by the formation of TIE, whiskers. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.