Protective CrN based coatings are widely used in automotive engineering since the early nineties due to their high hardness and excellent wear resistance. Nevertheless, an embedment of solid lubricants and formation of nanocomposite structures could improve the properties of these materials significantly and reduce fuel consumption and particle emission, respectively. Within this work, the feasibility and applicability of reactive magnetron sputtering for preparation of low-friction and self-lubricating CrN coatings were investigated. The properties of common CrN coatings were systematically aligned by incorporation of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), and tungsten disulfide (WS2). Based on chemical, morphological, microstructural, and mechanical characterization, the interrelationships between growth, microstructure, and properties were investigated for a new class of materials. No significant friction reduction for the deposited coatings was found by incorporation of the used solid lubricant systems due to the observed low BN grain sizes and the understoichiometry of the MoS2 and WS2 phases, respectively.