Hard coatings for cutting applications require a high hardness, wear resistance, low friction coefficients and high oxidation stability to meet requirements such as high cutting speeds and long lifetimes. V in TiN/VN multilayer coatings or in TiVN solid solution coatings offers the ability to decrease the friction coefficient at high application temperatures due to the formation of Magnli phase oxides (VnO3n-1) at the coating surface. Especially the diffusion mechanism of V to the coating surface, where the lubricating film is formed, plays an important role. In order to investigate the fundamental influence of the coating orientation on the diffusion behaviour and the mechanical properties of TiN/VN multilayer coatings, epitaxial model systems are required. Thus, the aim of this work was to deposit epitaxial TiN and VN single layer as well as TiN/VN bilayer coatings on differently oriented MgO (100) and (111) substrates using reactive magnetron sputtering. The influence of the coating parameters on the quality of the epitaxial growth was determined by X-ray diffraction measurements (XRD), SEM/EBSD analysis and TEM investigations. Mechanical properties were determined by nanoindention.