Erosion is the main contributing factor to the decrease in lifetime of gun barrels. The precision, muzzle velocity and fire range deteriorate when the surface inside the gun tube is eroded. This study deals with gun barrel material, what happens in the barrel during firing and different methods to decrease the erosion. The land of the riffling is the most erosion-exposed area in the gun tube. The erosion process can be divided into three different groups: Thermal, chemical and mechanical factors. By modifying the propellant the temperature and/or the reactivity of the propellant gases can be decreased, however, it will affect the performance of the firearm. There are many different means of how to improve or protect the gun barrel material; this study mainly deals with modifications of the gun barrel material and coatings on the inside of the tube. The focus of this study is on different coating alternatives and coating techniques. Titanium diboride (TiB2) and titanium nitride (TiN) are promising coating materials, which have the desired properties to function as a coating in gun tubes. Chromium is a good candidate for the metals since it has many of the desired properties and is a well documented gun barrel coating material.