Femtosecond laser-assisted surface texturing of compression piston rings is proposed and demonstrated. A femtosecond pulsed Ti3+:sapphire laser is used to generate dimples of the same size but with different area density on a moly-chrome ceramic deposited cast iron piston ring. The influence of the surface morphology and tribology operating conditions, such as reciprocating frequency and temperature of the lubricant, on friction and wear characteristics of textured piston rings and plateau honed liner samples is investigated. A decrease in the friction coefficient is observed with the texturing of rings. The dimple area density, which is defined as the ratio of the total textured area and the total area of the surface, of 16% and 27% offered a reduced coefficient of friction and minimize wear on the liner surface. © 2020 Royal Society of Chemistry. All rights reserved.