LiAlxOy films with thicknesses of 65-200 nm were deposited by the atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique on the LZ101 Mg-Li alloy. The ALD-deposited LiAlxOy films exhibit an amorphous structure and have an atomic ratios of Li:Al:O=1:1:2. The potentio-dynamic polarization tests show that the corrosion resistance of Mg-Li alloys can be significantly improved due to the dense and pinhole-free structure as well as the excellent coverage and conformity of the ALD-deposited LiAlxOy films. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.