Rare earth can improve the microstructure and properties of the laser cladding layer in laser cladding. In this paper, the effects of rare earth Y2O3 with a mass fraction of 1.0% on the microstructure and tribological properties of a laser cladding Fe60 coating were studied. First, an Fe60 coating and Fe60-Y2O3 coating were prepared on the surface of a 16Mn substrate by laser cladding. Then, the microstructure of both the Fe60 coating and Fe60-Y2O3 coating was analysed by XRD, OM, SEM and EDS. Finally, the microhardness, tribological properties and wear mechanism of the two coatings were studied by a Vickers hardness tester, friction and wear tester, 3D profilometer and SEM. The results show that compared with the Fe60 coating, the secondary dendrite arm spacing of the Fe60-Y2O3 coating is 2.925 μm, which is reduced by 17.4%; the cross-section microhardness is 701 HV 0.3 , which is increased by 9.5%; the friction coefficient is 0.312, which is decreased by 40.3%; and the volume wear rate is 2.36×10 -5 mm 3 / (N · m), which is decreased by 30.8%. Therefore, the Fe60-Y2O3 coating with finer grains has a higher microhardness, lower friction coefficient and better wear

resistance.