Magnesium alloy, although valuable, is reactive and requires protection before it can be applied in many fields. In this study, a novel protective environmental-friendly gradient coating was performed on AZ91D magnesium alloy by non-chromate surface treatments, which consisted of phytic acid chemical conversion coating and the sol-gel-based CeO2 thin film. The surface morphologies, microstructure and composition of the coatings were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The corrosion resistance of the coatings was evaluated by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution. The effects of the concentration, layers, temperature of heat treatment of CeO2 sol on the anti-corrosion properties of the gradient coating for magnesium were also investigated. The results showed that the gradient coating was mainly composed of crystalline CeO2. According to the results of electrochemical tests, the corrosion resistance of AZ91D magnesium alloy was found to be greatly improved by means of this new environmental-friendly surface treatment. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd.