Ni and n-SiO2/Ni coatings were prepared by brush plating with direct current, pulse current and pulse reverse current. SEM, AFM, TEM and XRD methods were applied to investigate the morphology, microstructure and grain size of the coatings. The results showed that the surface morphology of the brush coatings is a cellular-like structure and the grain size is all in nano scale. It indicated that brush plating is an old but still unknown technique for the nano-technology. In composite brush plating process, the existence of nano particles and pulse reverse current increase the nucleation rate and restrain the grain growth, which results in the refinement of nanocrystalline. The hardness of the coatings shows a good relation with its grain size.