Ceramic deposition produced by cold spraying was studied for functional surface applications. Several oxide materials and metal matrix composite (MMC) powders were used to model the behavior of ceramic powder deposition on soft metallic substrate materials. The manufacturing method, density and size of ceramic powders and matrix material of MMC were found to affect the deposition on soft metal surfaces. The powder density influences the deposition greatly and it is also an important factor in finding an ideal powder particle size. Fusing and crushing the powder can be a good manufacturing method if the fusion does not cause phase transformations in the powder. In that case, spray drying with sintering can give better results. Spraying parameters, such as the process gas parameters and the effect of multiple sweeps of the torch were also studied to optimize the amount of deposition. Cold spraying was found to be a promising manufacturing method for functional surfaces.