Abstract: A wear-resistant electrode was designed. The flux coating of the electrode was composed of reduced iron powder, sepiolite ore, potassium feldspar, sodium silicate, rutile, fluorite, manganese powder, cellulose, aluminum-silicon alloy, ferrosilicon alloy and rare earth ferrosilicona. The core was made of 0Cr13 stainless steel wire. Three-layer multi-pass underwater surfacing welding tests were conducted on Q235 steel by self-shielded metal arc welding. The microstructure and wear resistance of the surfacing layer deposited with the wear-resistant electrode were investigated in comparison with those of a conventional electrode. The results show that the surfacing layer deposited with the wear-resistant electrode was free from cracks and other defects, and its microstructure consisted of lath martensite and a small amount of δ-ferrite. The martensite grew along the temperature gradient, forming columnar crystals. Compared with the common electrode deposited surfacing layer, the wear-resistant electrode layer exhibited smaller martensite grain size, a higher volume fraction of martensite, and lower content of δ-ferrite. Compared with that with the common electrode deposited surfacing layer, the microhardness of the wear-resistant electrode deposited surfacing layer increased, and the friction coefficient and the wear rate decreased; the wear-resistance was improved. The worn surface of the wear-resistant electrode deposited surfacing layer exhibited shallow and uniformly sized furrows, accompanied by localized minor spalling, wear debris, and microcracks; the dominant wear mechanism was mild abrasive wear.