<p>45# steel is a high-quality carbon structural steel with a carbon content of approximately 0.45%. It is low in price and has good processing performance, and is widely used in mechanical manufacturing. Due to its poor wear resistance, its application in special environments is limited. In this study, FeNiCoCrMnTi_xNb_1.5−x (x = 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.25) series high-entropy alloy coatings were successfully fabricated on the surface of 45# steel by laser cladding technology. The results show that Ti element is mainly dissolved in the FeNiCoCrMn matrix to form solid solution strengthening, and combines with carbon to form a small amount of TiC precipitated phase. The addition of Nb element induced the formation of the Laves phase, which, as an effective nucleation promoter, significantly refined the grains and reduced the dislocation density. With the increase of Ti content, the microstructure of the coating undergoes significant evolution: the grain morphology gradually changes from strip-like dendrites to reticular crystals, further developing into equiaxed cell crystals, and ultimately forming an equiaxed dendrite structure. Under the synergistic effect of solid solution strengthening and second-phase strengthening, the microhardness of the coating has significantly increased, reaching up to 3.7 times that of 45# steel. Meanwhile, the wear resistance of the coating has also been significantly enhanced, with the maximum improvement reaching 7.1 times. When x = 0.75, the coating presents a typical eutectic structure, featuring both high strength and good toughness, and demonstrates the best wear resistance. In addition, as the x value increases, the corrosion resistance of the coating continues to improve. When x = 1.25, due to the reduction in the number of grain boundaries and the formation of a more stable passivation film, this coating has the best corrosion resistance, and its self-corrosion current density is only 0.024–0.063 times that of other coatings.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>