Gas-atomized powders of three Fe-based glass-forming alloys were sprayed on mild steel substrates by atmospheric plasma spaying using the same spaying parameters. Microstructures, thermal stabilities and tribological properties of the sprayed coatings were analyzed. The coating performances showed a strong dependence on the intrinsic characters of the compositions, i.e., glass-forming ability (GFA) and supercooled liquid region (?Tx). The coatings tended to exhibit higher amorphous phase fraction for the composition with higher GFA and lower porosity for that with larger ?Tx. All the coatings exhibited superior wear resistance compared with the substrate. Higher wear resistance could be obtained in coatings with higher amorphous phase fraction, i.e. higher GFA of the composition. This study has important implications for composition selecting and optimizing in the fabrication of metallic glass coatings. Gas-atomized powders of three Fe-based glass-forming alloys were sprayed on mild steel substrates by atmospheric plasma spaying using the same spaying parameters. Microstructures, thermal stabilities and tribological properties of the sprayed coatings were analyzed. The coating properties showed a strong dependence on the intrinsic characters of the compositions, ie, glass-forming ability (GFA) and supercooled liquid region (? Tx). The coatings tended to exhibit higher amorphous phase fractions for the composition with higher GFA and lower porosity for that with larger? Tx . All the coatings were superior wear resistance compared with the substrate. Higher wear resistance could be obtained in coatings with higher amorphous phase fraction, ie higher GFA of the composition. This study has important implications for composition selecting and optimizing in the fabrication of metallic glass coatings.