In this study, silicon (Si) was doped on a tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) coating and the tribological characteristics of the resulting Si-doped diamond-like carbon (DLC; a-C:Si:H) were investigated against a SUJ2 ball. The Si fraction in the coating was varied from 0 to ~ 20 at.% by increasing the trimethylsilane gas flow rate during filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition. The coefficient of friction (CoF) showed no obvious change when the Si fraction was less than ~ 7 at.%. However, after Si doping, it significantly decreased when the Si fraction was greater than ~ 8 at.%. The running-in period also decreased to less than 1000 cycles after Si doping. The rapid formation of Si-rich debris and transfer layer led to the fabrication of a low-friction tribofilm, which was induced by the tribochemical reaction with moisture under ambient conditions. When the Si fraction was ~ 17 at.%, the lowest CoF of less than 0.05 was obtained. Further Si doping beyond the critical point led to the destruction of the film because of reduced hardness.