CoCrTaAlY/YSZ thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are fabricated by diode laser cladding and plasma spraying on a 1Cr13 steel substrate. The morphologies of coatings are observed by the scanning electronic microscopy, the composition distribution is analyzed through energy dispersive spectroscopy, and the phase composition is characterized by X-ray diffractometer. The results demonstrate that the phase composition of a YSZ coating comprises cubic ZrO2 (c-ZrO2), tetragonal ZrO2 (t-ZrO2), and a small amount of monoclinic ZrO2 (m-ZrO2). The bonding layer has typical rapid melting microstructure characteristics and metallurgical bonds with the substrate. The thermal shock performance and high-temperature oxidation resistance mechanism of TBCs as well as their failure behavior are investigated. The results show that the formation of Al2O3 oxide film can prevent the diffusion of oxygen. Consequently, the high-temperature oxidation resistance of TBCs is about 4.1 times that of the substrate (the cumulative oxidation weight gain of the YSZ coating is only 0.08 g·cm -2). The YSZ coating appears to crack for the first time after it undergoes 20 thermal shocks at 900 ℃. The cracks gradually become larger as the number of thermal shocks increases, and the coating breaks completely after 30 thermal shocks.