In order to study the effects of anode layer linear ion source(ALLIS)on the microstructure and mechanical properties of amorphous carbon nitride (a-CN_x) films, a-CN_x films were deposited by the ALLIS assisted radio frequency magnetron sputtering (RFMS) deposition condition changing the ion source power from 0 to 200 W. The growth rate, structural morphology, surface roughness, nanohardness as well as the bonding states of deposited a-CN_x films were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), nanoindentation, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. The H/E and hardness increased relatively with increasing the ion source power up to 100 W. From the Micro Raman analysis, the content of sp³ carbon in sp³/sp² ratio was increased with increasing the ion source power. The cross-sectional SEM images demonstrated that the ion source enhanced the growth rate of a-CN_x films. Meanwhile, the roughness was increased with the ion source power above 100 W. Therefore, the optimum ion source power is considered to be around 100 W in these experimental conditions.