The present study deals with elaboration and characterization of thin hard coatings titanium nitride (TiN) and titanium nitride doped with silicon (TiSiN). These films have been deposited by RF magnetron sputtering on silicon and steel substrates. Structure, morphology and stresses have been investigated using X-ray diffraction (DRX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Newton's rings device. To evaluate the adhesion of films and their thermal stability, annealing at different temperatures has been performed. SEM analysis of TiN films reveals the presence of columnar structure. However XRD analysis of films illustrates the effect of deposition time on the crystallization of TiN. On one hand, stress levels increase with the nitrogen rate and decreases with temperature. On the other hand, stresses are not homogeneous within thicknesses. Indeed, a peak stress of 7GPa is observed for a 200nm. SEM observations show that the adhesion of TiN films starts to deteriorate at 600°C. The addition of silicon to TiN coatings leads to the amorphousness of films. Columnar structure of TiN films becomes denser with the increase of silicon rate. Reduction of grain sizes is observed and justifies the densification of these films and the increase of stress levels. To sum up, it has been shown that there improvement in the adhesion (700°C) and a resistance to oxidation of doped films (TiSiN).