Three steels are investigated, i. e. , 0. 2 carbon steel, chromium bearing steel (GCr15) and SSL316. Their tribological characteristics are compared before and after nitrogen implantations. These include hardness, coefficient of friction, wear rate and the topography of the wear tracks. Amounts of wearing are determined for both pin and disk in each run of the wear test, and a new criterion is suggested for evaluating the improvement of wear resistance by ion implantation. Nitrogen profiles determined with SIMS show that the nitrogen transports to the depth during wearing.