Ceramic coating have been used in various engineering fields because of theirexcellent wear resistance and heat insulation properties，but their poor fracture toughness andbrittle quality seriously limit their popularization. In order to improve the brittleness of ceramiccoating，the toughening method and corresponding mechanism of ceramic coating were discussed. The principle of magnetron sputtering and the influence of regulating the processparameters and doping other elements on the structure，stress and grain boundary of ceramiccoating were reviewed. The difficulties in the study of ceramic coating fracture toughness andhardness are summarized，and the toughening mechanism is affected by the size of the coating.The prospects for improving the fracture toughness of ceramic coating are presented from theaspects of the process parameters of magnetron sputtering and the synergies of variousprocesses and toughening mechanisms.