We investigate the phase formation in the compound layer of cast irons during the gaseous nitrocarburising of four different cast irons, that contain different types of graphites in the shape and size. We examine the change in the surface roughness with the nitrocarburising time. The observation of cross-sectional microstructure and X-ray diffraction analysis indicate that the compound layer consists of single ${varepsilon}-Fe_{2-3}(N,C)$ phase and that its thickness increases in a parabolic manner with the treatment time. The surface roughness parameters, Rz and Ra increase with increasing treatment time. In other words, the roughness parameters increase as the thickness of compound layer increases. The parameters also depend on the shape and size of graphite in the individual cast irons.