Thermal spray powder essentially refers to the powder material that will be melted in-flight and then deposited on a prepared substrate to form a protective coating. Powders for thermal spray are produced in multiple ways: Atomization,Chemical,Solid state reduction and Spray-drying.

Examples of common metal powders used include zinc, tin, nickel, iron, granular copper and aluminum powder. However, since not all thermal spray processes involve metal powder, there are also plastics, ceramics and alloys and composites available to be thermal sprayed on a surface.