PURPOSE: To provide a cutting tool made of a hard layer covering sintered hard alloy exhibiting an excellent cutting performance in the case of its using for an intermittent cutting and a high speed continuous cutting of milling, etc., by giving a concentration gradient on the hard covering layer.

CONSTITUTION: It is a cutting tool made by coating a titanium carbide nitride monolayer having the composition shown by Ti (xNy) [where, x + y = 1], on the surface of a sintered hard alloy substrate, the (x) in the above Ti (CxNy) monohard layer takes the maximum value on the inner most face brought into contact with the sintered hard alloy substrate, taking the minimum value on the outermost face with its change so as to increase in the layer thickness direction toward theoutermost face from the innermost face, on the one hand, (y) takes the minimum value on the innermost face brought into contact with the sintered hard alloy substrate, taking the maximum value on the outermost face with its change so as to reduce in the layer thickness direction toward the outermost face from the innermost face.