Organic coatings silane-based containing electron withdrawing group or electron donating group have been synthesized and evaluated as prospective surface treatments for AZ91D magnesium alloy by hydrolysis and condensation reaction of the different silanes. Electrochemical tests were employed to confirm the corrosion resistance ability of the two kinds of organic coatings. The results showed that the coating with electron donating group had better corrosion protection performance. On the basis of the spatial configuration and the density of charge of those silanes molecules which was obtained through Gaussian 03 procedure based on B3LYP and density functional theory, combining experiment results, the rational explanation was provided. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.