<p>Laser cladding technology has great potential in the surface modification of titanium alloys. Rare earths and ceramic particles are often introduced in the preparation of composite coatings to significantly improve the specific strength and wear resistance. In this study, (nano-CeO₂ + micron TiC)/Ti6Al4V composite coating with different CeO₂/ TiC amounts was fabricated by laser cladding. The morphology of the coating was observed using a digital microscope, and scanning electron microscope, elemental characterization, and phase analysis were performed using EDS and XRD, and the micro Vickers hardness of the coating was measured using a Vickers hardness tester. The mechanism of microstructure formation and evolution and the microhardness of the composite coating were investigated in detail. The results showed that the phase composition of the coating mainly contained TiC, α-Ti, and CeO_x. Meanwhile, the introduction of nano-CeO₂ can effectively reduce the penetration depth and dilution rate of the coating by promoting local Marangoni convection within the molten pool. In particular, the precipitation of primary TiC is facilitated by the addition of nano-CeO₂, while the growth of primary TiC is impeded and the precipitation of eutectic TiC is suppressed. Excessive addition of nano-CeO₂ lead to agglomeration, which was caused by van der Waals forces between particles. Furthermore, the peak microhardness of the composite coating reaches 437.9&#xa0;HV, which is 30.7% higher than the Ti6Al4V substrate.</p>