Hardened die steel Cr12MoV is widely used in the manufacture of large dies and molds because of its high hardness and strength as well as good hardenability, but its wear resistance needs to be further improved under service conditions of high cyclic stress and large impact load. Heat treatment can improve the strength, hardness, and anti-wear performance of the material by changing the internal organization without changing the material composition. A suitable heat treatment process is of great importance for improving its performance. In this paper, the effect of cryogenic treatment temperature on the mechanical and tribological properties of Cr12MoV alloy is investigated. The results show that the surface hardness of the Cr12MoV alloy is 1~2 HRC higher than that the original alloy after cryogenic treatment. The friction coefficient of the Cr12MoV alloy decreases from 0.7 to 0.59 after treatment at -65 ℃, and then decreases 0.54 after cryogenic treatment at -196 ℃. In addition, the wear volume decreases five times after cryogenic treatment, while the surface hardness and wear volume of the alloy remain almost constant after cryogenic treatment at different temperatures. Atomic force microscopy measurements show that finer precipates are dispersed on the surface of the sample treated with -196 ℃. The mechanism of cryogenic treatment is explained in combination with relevant theories to provide theoretical guidance for production and application.