Magnesium metal and its alloys are known to have excellent physical and mechanical properties suitable for a number of industrial and technological applications. Yet due to their highly reactive nature, magnesium alloys have continued to see little industrial use. This paper demonstrates an extension of the recently introduced, novel method established to deposit electroless Cu films on Mg alloys to the next step of direct electroless deposition of nickel phosphorous [Ni-P] and nickel-zinc-phosphorous [Ni-Zn-P] alloy films on polished AZ91D magnesium alloys. These reasonably adhered, quick depositing, continuous, low phosphorous, electroless coatings contain phosphorous, atomically, at, or below, 10% due to the use of an alkaline deposition bath. (C) 2012 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/2.069207jes] All rights reserved.