Cr-Mo-Si-C-N coatings were deposited on steel and Si wafer by a hybrid system of AIP and sputtering techniques using Cr, Mo and Si target in $Ar/N_2/CH_4$ gaseous mixture. Instrumental analyses of XRD and XPS revealed that the Cr-Mo-Si-C-N coatings must be a composite consisting of fine(Cr, Mo and Si)(C and N) crystallites and amorphous $Si_3N_4$ and SiC. The hardness value of Cr-Mo-Si-C-N coatings significantly increased from 41 GPa of Cr-Mo-C-N coatings to about 53 GPa with Si content of 9.3 at.% due to the refinement of (Cr, Mo and Si)(C and N) crystallites and the composite microstructure characteristics. A systematic investigation of the microstructures and mechanical properties of Cr-Mo-Si-C-N coatings prepared with various Si contents is reported in this paper.