Thermal stability of nanostructured NiCrC coating prepared by high velocity air-fuel (HVAF) spraying of cryomilled feedstock powders was investigated.Transmission electron microscopy (TEM),differential scanning calorimetry (DSC),and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were utilized for characteristic analysis.Recrystallization and normal grain growth occur when isothermal treatment is performed at 923 K (0.55 TM) for up to 100 h,and the average grain size increases from initial 41 nm for as-deposited state to around 100 nm for nearly equilibrium state.Isochronal treatment at 823 K and 1023 K was also conducted for comparison.Accordingly,for 0.49 to 0.61 T/TM,the time exponent n deduced from D1/n - D1/0/n = kt increases from 0.15 to 0.30.The observed high thermal stability is attributed primarily to a Zener pinning mechanism arising from the fine Cr2O3 dispersions and the solute drag effect as well.