Aiming to improve the surface properties of copper, a Ni-Cr-B-Si coating was fabricated by plasma transferred arc (PTA) cladding. The coating formed a good metallurgical bonding with the copper substrate, and the dilution rate was about 15.9%. The coating mainly contained γ-(Cu, Fe, Ni), Cr23C6, CrB and Ni3Si phases, which played a role of solid solution strengthening and dispersion strengthening. The hardness of the coating was significantly improved compared to the copper substrate, which was approximately 7.8 times that of the substrate. The wear resistance of the coating was 5.0 times higher than that of the copper substrate, and the wear mechanism was abrasive wear.