The effect of coating time in arc ion plating on surface properties of the TiN-coated high speed steel(SKH51) is presented in this paper. Surface roughness, micro-hardness, coated thickness, atomic distribution of TiN and adhesion strength are measured for various coating times. It has been shown that the coating time has a deep influence on the micro-hardness, the coated thickness, the atomic distribution of Ti and the adhesion strength of the SKH51 steels but that it has little influence on the surface roughness.