Fe-C alloy layers were produced by pulse plating and the properties were compared with those produced by D.C. plating. When the pulse on time ($T_{on}$ ) was the same, both the duty cycle and peak current density($I_{p}$ ) had little influence on the carbon content and the hardness of the layer. The structure and hardness of the direct current plating were similar to those of the pulse current plating. However, the ductility was enhanced when the pulse current was applied due to the release of residual stress during the pulse off time($T_{off}$).).