The distribution of residual stresses, in an iron electrolytic coating with the thickness of 1 mm, was discussed. It was found that the coating minimizes the influence of crystallographic texture and stress gradients. Scanning electron microscopy observations indicate that some cracks are produced in the direct current deposited layer. The results show that the grain size in the electrolytic coating observed by transmission electron microscopy is around 20 nm with an aspect ratio of 5:1.