In this work NbC coatings were deposited on AISI 316L steel substrates by reactive unbalanced magnetron sputtering. The coatings were deposited at room temperature to avoid heating alterations in the steel substrate microstructure, without bias and with a thickness of 200 nm. The coatings microstructure was characterized by X ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Adherence of the coatings was evaluated using the scratch test and its corrosion resistance was evaluated by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in a 3.5% NaCl solution. The results indicate that the coating NbC has (111) preferential orientation, exhibits good adhesion and has good corrosion resistance for stainless steels protection.