Chain element (2), particularly a chain pin (4) for joining at least two chain links (3), which element is formed from a base material (5) containing carbon, particularly steel, characterized in that it has a surface layer (7) containing boron and vanadium, wherein the surface layer (7) is produced by a method according to which, in a first method step, an intermediate layer (6) containing carbon and vanadium is formed by at least one measure for the diffusion of vanadium into surface regions close to the surface of the base material (5) and, in a subsequent second method step, the surface layer (7) is formed by the transformation of the intermediate layer (6) by at least one measure for the diffusion of boron into the intermediate layer (6).