Sputtered coating of a low-Cr Fe-Co-Ni alloy with 0.36wt.% Si has been prepared on the same cast alloy via magnetron sputtering method. The sputtered low-Cr alloy coating with columnar nanocrystalline structure is thermally oxidized in air at 800 degrees C corresponding to the cathode atmosphere of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). It is found that the oxidation resistance of the sputtered low-Cr alloy coating is significantly improved in comparison with the cast low-Cr alloy. A double-layer oxide scale is thermally developed on the sputtered low-Cr alloy coating after oxidation for 12 weeks. The outer layer is (Co,Fe)(3)O-4 spinel containing small amount of Ni and Cr. The inner layer is a continuous Cr2O3 layer, followed by oxides of CrNbO4 and Nb2O5. The surface scale formed on the sputtered coating after 12-week thermal exposure demonstrates an area specific resistance (ASR) of 31.97 m Omega cm(2). The sputtered low-Cr alloy nanocrystaline coating exhibits a promising perspective for intermediate temperature SOFC interconnects application. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.