Abstract: A method for forming a superhard amorphous carbon coating in vacuum, comprising the steps of: placing an article in a vacuum chamber, evacuating the chamber, treating a surface for the article with accelerated ions; applying, on the treated surface, a layer of a material that provides adhesion for subsequent layers, initiating pulsed electric-arc discharge on a graphite cathode, and obtaining a pulsed carbon plasma stream from a plurality of cathode spots that move along the cathode surface. After that, the carbon plasma is condensed in a predetermined area on the article surface to produce a superhard amorphous carbon coating, the article temperature being maintained within the range of 200 to 450 K through controlling a repetition frequency of the electric-arc discharge pulses.