The research identifies the main stress state changes in the contact zone of an internal combustion engine’s cylinder liner, whose working surface is coated with an antifriction layer. The research methodology involves developing analytical dependencies to determine stress tensors in the contact zone of the cylinder liner’s working surface. Equations have been derived to calculate the stress state of a cylinder liner with an antifriction coating, which has elastic properties different from those of a cast-iron liner. The occurrence of stress concentration peaks at the contact boundaries between the “cylinder liner – piston ring” and the antifriction coating of the liner’s working surface was established. Calculations of the liner surface’s stress state, subjected to tangential friction stresses in the contact zone, were conducted to analyze the causes of these stress concentration peaks. This analysis revealed that contact friction forces lead to stress peaks at various boundaries of the contact areas. To enhance the durability of antifriction coatings, it is proposed to increase the length of the contact area and reduce friction forces between the rings and the liner, which can be achieved by selecting the appropriate antifriction coating material.