To improve the binding strength between a chromium aluminum nitride （CrAlN） film and substrate and enhance the film's wear resistance， a CrAlN film was deposited on a 45 steel substrate via cathodic arc sputtering. The influence mechanisms of a magnetic field and the target-substrate distance on the properties of the CrAlN film were analyzed. In addition， the effects of the magnetic field on the film's thickness， surface morphology， binding force， and wear resistance were investigated and compared with those for a film deposited without a magnetic field. The results revealed that the film thickness， surface roughness， droplet size， and number of droplets decreased with an increase in the target-substrate distance. Compared with the sample deposited without a magnetic field， the surface roughness values of the samples deposited with a magnetic field were smaller， the radii of curvature of the films were larger， and the binding forces were better. The interfacial binding force was approximately 60 N with the magnetic field， and it changed little with the target-substrate distance， whereas the binding force changed significantly without a magnetic field. When the two types of samples were subjected to the same conditions， the binding force increased by 20%-80%. The friction coefficient and wear rate of the film decreased with an increase in the target-substrate distance， and the friction coefficient and wear rate of the sample with a magnetic field were smaller at the same target-substrate distance. When a magnetic field was applied and the target-substrate distance was 160-180 mm， the deposited CrAlN film exhibited the best performance. These results provide important references for the preparation of high-performance CrAlN films.