To enhance the microhardness and wear resistance of 316L coatings, NbC/316L stainless steel composite coatings were synthesized on 304 stainless steel substrates using laser cladding. The microstructure, phase composition, element distribution, hardness and wear behavior of the composite coatings were studied, respectively. The results showed that the surface of the composite coating had no defects such as cracks and pores, and the structure were uniform and dense. The coating consisted of γ-Fe and NbC, where NbC were uniformly and diffusely distributed throughout the coating. Combined with the microstructure and element distribution of the coating, NbC played a fine crystal strengthening and second phase strengthening in the coating, and the microhardness of the composite coating were about 354 HV, which was significantly higher than the microhardness of the 316L coating (233 HV). Due to the improvement of microhardness, the friction coefficient and wear rate of the composite coating have been reduced, and the average friction coefficient of the composite coating was about 0.387, and the wear rate was 1.41×10-5 (N·m), which is about 0.5 times that of the 316L coating. The addition of NbC can significantly improve the hardness and wear resistance of the 316L coating.