The current trend for using lower viscosity lubricants with the aim of improving fuel economy of mechanical systems means that machine components are required to operate for longer periods in thin oil film, boundary and mixed lubrication conditions, where the risk of surface damage is increased. In addition, non-ferrous materials are increasingly being introduced in machine components to reduce wear and increase efficiency. Thus, understanding of the ZDDP antiwear tribofilm formation on both ferrous and non-ferrous surfaces is increasingly important in order to formulate lubricants that give desired antiwear performance with both types of materials. In this paper the effect of ferrous and non-ferrous rubbing materials, namely, steel, Si₃N₄, WC, SiC and a-C:H DLC coating, on ZDDP tribofilm formation was investigated. Among non-ferrous materials, it was found that ZDDP tribofilms were formed on Si₃N₄ and WC in the boundary lubrication regime, but almost no tribofilms were formed on SiC and a-C:H DLC. In addition, although tribofilms formed on some non-ferrous surfaces, they were easily removed under boundary lubrication by direct asperity contact because of their weak adhesion to the substrate. This tribofilm removal makes quantification of ZDDP tribofilm formation rate on non-ferrous surfaces under boundary lubrication conditions difficult. By contrast, under high shear stress EHL conditions, thick tribofilms formed without film removal with the tribofilm thickness being the greatest for steel, followed by Si₃N₄ and then WC, with no tribofilm formation observed on SiC and DLC. QCM results suggest that ZDDP tribofilm formation might be considerably affected by the extent to which ZDDP adsorbs on the substrate surface. The chemical properties of tribofilms are discussed and a possible mechanism by which ZDDP forms tribofilm on non-ferrous surfaces is suggested. This study has practical implications for ways in which non-ferrous surfaces can be protected from wear via lubricant formulation.