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Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are potential reinforcements for toughening the ceramic matrix. The critical issue of avoiding CNT agglomeration and introducing CNT-matrix anchoring has challenged many researchers to improve the mechanical properties of the CNT reinforced nanocomposite. In the current work, dispersed CNTs are grown on Al₂O₃ powder particles in situ by the catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) technique. Consequently, 0.5wt.% CNT-reinforced Al₂O₃ particles were successfully plasma sprayed to obtain a 400μm thick coating on the steel substrate. In situ CNTs grown on Al₂O₃ shows a promising enhancement in hardness and fracture toughness of the plasma-sprayed coating attributed to the existence of strong metallurgical bonding between Al₂O₃ particles and CNTs. In addition, CNT tentacles have imparted multi-directional reinforcement in securing the Al₂O₃ splats. High-resolution …