The frictional behaviors of Cermets/Cr-Ceramics and Cu-Al coatings of piston ring were investigated. Friction tests were carried out by pin-on-disk test and materials properties of coating layer were analyzed by nano indentation tester. The effect of surface roughness of cylinder liner on the friction coefficient was analyzed. This study provided tribological data of hard and soft piston ring coatings against cylinder liner. The surface roughness does exert an influence on the average friction coefficient, with smoother surfaces generally yielding lower friction coefficients. In case of hard-coating, the scratch depth, width and pile-up height had close relationship with hardness. So the scratch width, depth and pile-up height increases with decreasing friction coefficient. But in case of soft-coating, the friction coefficients are strongly dependent on the morphological characteristics such as, scratch depth, width, pile-up height and elastic modulus.