A novel strong water-repellent alumina thin film is fabricated by chemically adsorbing stearic acid (STA) layer onto the porous and roughened aluminum film coated with polyethyleneimine (PEI). The formation process and the structure of the strong water-repellent alumina film are investigated by means of contact angle measurement and atomic force microscope (AFM). Results show that the water contact angles for the alumina films increase with the increase of the immersion time in the boiling water, and meanwhile, the roughness of the alumina films increases with the dissolution of the boehmite in the boiling water. Finally, the strong water-repellent film with a high water contact angle of 139.1 degrees is obtained when the alumina films have distinct roughened morphology with some papillary peaks and porous structure. Moreover, both the roughened structure and the hydrophobic materials of the STA endow the alumina films with the strong water-repellence. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.