In order to decrease oxide growth kinetics, maintain suitable conductivity and prevent Cr-volatilization of AISI 430 stainless steels (430 SS) as the interconnect for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), a Co-Ni-O spinel oxide protective coating has been successfully fabricated on the 430 SS specimen using a simple and cheap process with two steps: 1) electroplation of Co-Ni alloy layer and 2) pre-oxidation treatment to convert the Co-Ni alloy into spinel oxide. The Co-Ni-O spinel layer on the 430 SS (Co-Ni-O 430 SS) is dense and uniform with 8-10 mu m thickness. And the Co-Ni-O spinel oxide protective coating consists of a main face-centered-cubic (fcc) NiCo2O4 spinel phase and a minor fcc NiO phase. Compared with bare 430 SS, the oxidation resistance and the conductivity of the Co-Ni-O 430 SS have been improved remarkably under simulated typical SOFC operating cathode conditions (at 800 C-omicron in air). After an isothermal oxidation test at 800 C-omicron, the area specific resistance (ASR) of Co-Ni-O 430 SS is much lower and stable (0.1 Omega cm(2) for 100 h and 0.9 Omega cm(2) for 600 h) than that of bare 430 SS (1.2 Omega cm(2) for 100 h and 2.4 Omega cm(2) for 600 h). These performances of Co-Ni-O 430 SS imply that it can be a promising candidate interconnect for solid oxide fuel cell. (C) 2017 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.