The annealed H13 hot-work die steel was treated by pulse current, and the resulting changes in microstructure, phase composition,hardness and wear resistance were systematically investigated, which were then compared with those of quenched and tempered specimens.Results showed that pulse current treatment could significantly enhance the wear resistance of H13 hot-work die steel.The treated specimens exhibited a microhardness of 708.2 HV, while the quenched and tempered states showed hardness values of 411.9 HV and 341.6 HV, respectively.Under identical friction conditions, the H13 hot-work die steel specimens treated with pulse current displayed significantly smaller wear volume and shallower wear scar depth than those of both quenched and tempered specimens.Phase analysis and microstructural comparisons further revealed that the pulse current treatment effectively induced grain refinement.