In this work, nanostructured titanate coatings were prepared on pure titanium substrate by hydrothermal treatment combined with and without anodic oxidation. The morphology and microstructure of coatings were characterized and the corrosion resistance and bioactivity were studied. The results show that the anodization-hydrothermal method is suitable for the formation of nanostructured titanate coating on Ti in concentrated KOH solution. The coatings are composed of K2Ti6O13 and H-2-Ti2O5 center dot H2O, and can greatly improve the corrosion resistance of Ti substrate. Moreover, the coatings can induce the formation of new apatite layer after the immersion in simulated body fluid, exhibiting good bioactivity. The anodizaiton treatment can not only accelerate the formation of nanostructures, but also can provide nucleation sites for nanostructured titanates, tailoring the morphology of coating. The titanium substrate with nanostructured titanate coating is expected to have significant applications as biomedical materials. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.