In this work, TiC-Ni coating was synthesized on copper substrate by electro-thermal explosion ultra-high speed spraying method at the discharge voltage of 26kV. Microstructure, phase structure, elemental distribution and microhardness of the coating were studied by means of scanning electron microscope in back-scatter-electron and secondary electron, energy-dispersive analysis X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and Vickers hardness tester. The TiC-Ni coating, which exhibits no pores or cracks, consists of an irregular spheroidal TiC phase embedded in a nearly continuous Cu0.81Ni0.19 binder. TiC particles are uniformly distributed and the size of the TiC particle of the coating is less than 1.0 m because of the solute trapping effect. The average hardness of the TiC-Ni coating is approximately 1200 HV0.3.