Design/methodology/approach Taguchi approach was used to identify the effect of three input parameters on the bare and coated alloys. L16 orthogonal array is used for determining the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio for each process parameter. For each level of parameters taken into consideration about the erosion wear, the arithmetic mean of the S/N ratio is calculated. On the essence of the results of S/N ratios, it is possible to determine the effect of the most dominating parameters of the erosion wear. Findings Results show that the erosion increases with an increase in silt concentration (Wt.%). It has been analyzed that the rotational speed has the most significant effect followed by the particle size and concentration on erosion wear for all uncoated and coated SS-304 samples. Maximum resistance to erosion is provided by 85%Cr2O3 + 15%Al2O3. The least erosion wear for process parameters has occurred at the optimal parametric combination of rotational speed (N) = 415 rev/min, concentration (C) = 15 Wt.% and particle size range as <53 µm for uncoated and coated stainless steel. Originality/value The study clearly shows the silt erosion performance of chromia and alumina coatings of different compositions at different input parameters. Peer review The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-01-2024-0028/