Abrasion testing was performed on DC sputtered hydrogenated carbon films on commercial thin-film disks processed under several conditions. Four film characteristics were found to influence the abrasion resistance of the disk, i.e., roughness, film adhesion, carbon toughness, and coefficient of friction. It was found that both fine-scale surface topography from the sputtered layer and substrate texture degraded abrasion resistance. Excellent abrasion resistance was observed for carbon films as thin as 10 nm on polished substrates when the magnetic film topography was minimized. Film adhesion was degraded by exposure to temperature and humidity. Hydrogen incorporation into the carbon films reduced film hardness which degraded abrasion resistance.Presented as a Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers paper at the STLE/ASME Tribology Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, October 24–27, 1993