The study presents the influence of anti-wear coatings and the type of material from which cutting tools are made of at the cutting temperature occurring on the tool. Cutting tools made of boron nitride and tungsten carbide composite were investigated. The methodology of measuring cutting temperature using thermoelement and thermovision techniques was presented. The results of temperature measurements occurring on the cutting tool in the cutting zone were compared. The paper also presents a method to determining the effective emissivity of the tested tools necessary for correct temperature measurement using the non-contact method. The obtained data were interpreted and the relationships described, and then the results obtained were discussed.