Numerical estimations of both solubility and subsurface penetration depth of nitrogen into TiC-(Ni-Cr) cermet exposed to an electron beam pulse in a chamber containing nitrogen atmosphere have been presented in this work.Effects of pulse electron beam assisted nitriding (PEBAN) on microstructure,microhardness and wear resistance of the cermet tool for cutting steel has been studied.The results show that the PEBAN treatment depth both for nitriding the metallic binder in the TiC-(Ni-Cr) cermet reached to the 5 μm below the surface and the nitrogen content 1.5 to 2.0 % at.was obtained.These optimal parameter levels correspond to the maximum 1.9 -fold gain in microhardness values as compared to those of untreated samples.The extended lifetime of the PEBAN-treated cutting edges of cermet inserts is determined primarily by such electron beam parameters as pulse duration and energy density.In case of TiC-(Ni-Cr) cermet,we found a combination of the PEBAN process parameters which provides extending the service life of cutting edges by a factor of 2.6.