Microstructure, mechanical and fatigue behaviors of TiCN and TiN/TiCN thin films, deposited on quenched and tempered STD61 tool steel, were investigated by using XRD, XPS, hardness, adhesion and fatigue tests. The TiCN thin film is grown along the (100), (111) orientation, whereas the TiN/TiCN thin film is grown along the (111) orientation. The preferred orientation of TiN/TiCN thin film strongly depends on the TiN buffer layer whose orientation is (111), as is well-known. The TiN/TiCN thin film showed the higher adhesion compared with TiCN single layer because the TiN buffer layer, having good toughness, reduces the effects of the lower hardness of substrate. In the high cycle tension-tension fatigue test, the fatigue life of the TiCN and the TiN/TiCN coated steel increased approximately two to four times and five to nine times respectively compared with uncoated specimens. The TiN buffer layer in multilayer thin films plays an important role in reducing residual stress and fatigue crack initiation, and then in restraining the fatigue propagation.