In this work, we have used hydrothermal method for the synthesis of dittmarite/Mg(OH)(2) composite (DMC) layer on AZ31 alloy of magnesium. The synthesized coating was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). In a test immersion into the Hank's mixture for 31 days, the synthesized coating inhibited corrosion of AZ31 significantly and the amorphous calcium apatite precursor deposited on the coating surface. In another tape test, we noticed strong adhesion between the coating and substrate that eventually concludes that the synthesized coating is hydrophilic and a promising candidate to be used in the absorbable implant materials. Besides, the cytotoxicity of the AZ31 alloy with DMC coating, grown under different conditions on L-929 cells in vitro was examined indirectly through the growth inhibition method (MTT assay). The cytotoxicity of the deposited coating lie between 0 similar to 1 that indicates it as a promising biomaterial. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.