Lubricant additive plays an important role in reducing the friction and wear for base oil. MAX phase ceramics may have superior advantages for additive application due to their unique nanolayered structure. In this paper, Ti₂SnC ceramic is prepared by sintering the elemental mixtures at 1250 °C. In addition, Cu-coated Ti₂SnC ceramic is successfully prepared using a chemical plating method for the first time. It is confirmed that the Ti₂SnC ceramic has good self-catalytic activity, and a layer of stacking Cu nano-particles can be deposited on the Ti₂SnC surface without pretreatment. When the Cu-coated Ti₂SnC ceramic powder is doped into PAO10 base oil, the oil can exhibit excellent lubrication properties, where the friction coefficient is as low as 0.095. A layer of tribo-film can be formed during the sliding process when the Cu-coated Ti₂SnC ceramic is incorporated into PAO10 base oil, which can reduce the friction coefficient. The superior lubrication properties can be attributed to the synergistic lubrication effect of Ti₂SnC ceramic and Cu nano-particles.