During the last years it has become more and more obvious that the surface topography and surface texture strongly influences the performance of CVD and PVD coated cutting tools. As a result the interest for different types of pre- and post-surface treatments of the substrates and the deposited coatings has increased. In the present study the friction and wear characteristics of CVD a-Al2O3 coated cemented carbide exposed to different post-surface treatments, including grinding, wet and dry micro-blasting and polishing, have been investigated using modified scratch testing and pin-on-disc testing using , AISI 304 stainless steel, AISI A2 tool and steel reinforcing iron as counter materials. The influence of the coating surface topography/texture on the resulting friction characteristics, tendency to build up layer formation and prevailing wear mechanisms were identified by optical profilometry, FEG-SEM and EDX analysis. Based on the results obtained, the potential of pin-on-disc testing in the tribological characterisation of CVD coatings for cutting tool applications is discussed.