This manuscript focused on the effect of processing technology and microalloying addition on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Ni-W coatings that were prepared by electrodeposition. For this reason, the surface morphology, microstructure, and tensile properties of Ni-W coatings were studied within a small W addition of less than 2.0 at.%. The experimental results showed that the Ni-W coatings have a single-phase FCC structure. By increasing the W content, the surface morphology of the coatings varied from the grooves between the coarse pyramid structures to uniformly distributed micropores. At the same time, the intensity of Ni(220) diffraction peak of the coatings also gradually weakened, with the surface roughness and the grain size reduced. There was a critical W addition of about 1.0 at.%, where the yield strength of Ni-W coating increased from ~ 1.0 GPa at the W addition regime <1.0 at.% sharply to ~ 2.0 GPa at the W addition regime >1.0 at.%. However, the tensile elongation was insensitive to the W content, which kept almost unchanged within the studied W addition range. In addition, strain hardening capacity of the coatings was also stable with the W content. In this work, the mechanical properties of Ni-W coating with micro-addition of W were optimized through manipulation of microalloying effect on the surface morphology and microstructure.