For swashplate-type axial piston machines, one of the most important parts is the lubricating interface between the valve plate and the cylinder block. When the valve plate and cylinder are subjected to pulsating loads, the interface between the two serves as a bearing and a seal. However, at the low speed of the pump, insufficient lubrication of the contact causes quick wear and substantial friction loss, drastically decreasing the pump's efficiency. Therefore, the material composition for fabricating the friction pair could contribute to the pump's efficiency. In this paper, an accurate prediction of the time-dependent tribological interface characteristics was performed to instruct the interface design efficiently and load holding capacity. Ball-on-disc tests were conducted to investigate the friction and wear behaviors of the valve plate/cylinder block interface using three types of valve plate materials. Cr12Mov base bronze coating (S1) prepared by physical vapor deposition has better tribological performance than the other two specimens of 38CrMoAl base bronze coating (S2) prepared by chemical vapor deposition and ductile Iron (S3). Results indicate that the S2 valve plate showed a much lower friction coefficient and wear rate. The scratch comparison reveals that the S2 specimen enhances the desired fracture toughness and protects the coatings from severe wear. S3 specimen has the lowest wear rate for the disc but higher friction coefficients and causes severe wear to its counter body surface (B4) due to differences in material composition and hardness.