Abstract: Thanks to its excellent mechanical properties, magnesium alloys have many potential applications in the aerospace and other fields. However, failure to adequately solve corrosion problems of magnesium alloy becomes one of the factors restricting its wide use in many industrial fields. Inspired by nature, researchers designed and fabricated bio-inspired water-repellent (superhydrophobic and slippery liquid-infused porous surface) surfaces with special wetting properties by exploring the surface microstructures of plants and animals such as lotus leaf and nepenthes pitcher, exhibiting excellent corrosion-resistant performance. This article summarizes the research progress on corrosion resistance of magnesium alloys with bio-inspired water-repellent properties in recent years. It mainly introduces the corrosion reasons, types of corrosion of magnesium alloys, and the preparation of magnesium alloys with bio-inspired water-repellent properties to improve corrosion resistance. In particular, it is widely used and effective to construct water-repellent and anti-corrosion coating on the surface of magnesium alloy by surface treatment. It is hoped that the research in this review can broaden the application range of magnesium alloys and provide a powerful reference for the future research on corrosion resistance of magnesium alloys.

Key words: magnesium alloy, bio-inspired water-repellent;corrosion resistance;superhydrophobic;slippery liquid-infused porous surface, research progress