Abstract: Arc ablation restricts the service life of the copper cathode. The surface strengthened cathode has the advantages of surface arc ablation resistance and high electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity of the substrate,which can effectively extend the service life of the cathode.By adjusting the inter-layer of the copper-based zirconium cladding layer cathode,three types of Cu-based cathodes,Zr #2/Zr #1/Cu,Zr/Cr/Cu,and Zr/Nb/Cu,were prepared by layer-by-layer laser cladding. The microstructure and phase structure of the layered cathodes were investigated. According to the forming quality and the cause of crack defects,the selection principle of multilayer cathode was defined. Furthermore,the air arc discharge and cathode ablation behaviors of the Zr/Nb/Cu cathode were investigated. The results show that the Zr/Nb/Cu cathode exhibits an improved arc ablation resistance,the cathode ablation rate of Zr/Nb/Cu cathode is 1.40 μg/C,41.2% lower than that of the Cu cathode. It is ascribed to the refractory oxide layer on the surface. Zr/Nb/Cu cathode exhibits potential as cathode in arc heaters.