The microstructure, friction, and wear behavior of Fe-based and Co-based alloy laser cladding layers in a seawater environment were studied and designed to solve the surface protection and repair problems of subway ER9 wheel steel. Fe-based alloy coating and Co-based alloy coating were prepared on the surface of ER9 wheel steel by laser cladding technology, and the microstructure, phase, and chemical element composition of the two cladding layers were compared and analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS)， and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The tribological properties of the two coatings in a seawater environment were investigated by reciprocating friction testers. The results show that in the sliding friction in a seawater environment, the surface of the wheel steel substrate is covered with a large area of corrosion products and presents a large number of grooves parallel to the sliding direction. In the two cladding coatings, the iron-based alloy coating is mainly composed of solid solutions such as α-Fe, (Fe, Ni) and Cr7C3, and the average hardness (about 638.8 HV) is equivalent to that of the matrix (284.8~293.2 HV) 2.21 times, the friction coefficient is about 0.270, the wear rate is 9.64×10-5 mm3/(N·m), the wear mechanism is mainly slight abrasive wear, accompanied by corrosion wear. The crystal phases of the cobalt-based alloy coating are mainly the FeNi3 phase, γ-Co phase, and Cr23C6 phase, the average hardness (about 467.9 HV) is about 1.62 times that of the matrix, the friction coefficient is about 0.225, and the wear rate is 3.06×10-5 mm3/(N·m). The wear mechanism is mainly slight oxidative wear.