The present invention relates to a tribological system (1; 2) comprising a first body (102; 105) and a second body (101; 107), which each form a component of an internal combustion engine (100), in particular a piston (102), a piston ring (105) or a cylinder (101, 107), and the surfaces (112, 108, 113) of which have a first and a second material area (11, 12) which come into contact with each other at least in some regions during operation and form a tribological contact, wherein the first and/or the second material area (11, 12) is formed as a layer on the basis of chromium oxide or aluminum chromium oxide. The invention also relates to an internal combustion engine (100) having such a system (1; 2).