Chromium (Cr) evaporation of ferritic stainless steel (FSS) interconnects is considered to be the main reason for severe deterioration of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). To suppress the influence of Cr evaporation, the development of a protective coating material on the FSS interconnects has been proved to be an effective way. Herein, we prepare a Co-containing protective coating via a facile pack cementation technique in different atmospheres on an AISI 430 FSS interconnect. The obtained coating is valid for enhancing the oxidation resistance and electrical performance of the FSS interconnect. After the isothermal oxidation test, the weight gain of the coated sample in Ar (0.415 mg/cm(2)) is smaller than that of uncoated (1.613 mg/cm(2)) and coated samples in air (0.498 mg/cm(2)). In addition, after the area specific resistance (ASR) test, the coated sample (73.68 m Omega( )cm(2)) in Ar has the lowest ASR compared with the uncoated (236.88 m Omega cm(2)) and coated samples in air (96.32 m Omega cm(2)). These results indicate that the formation of the CoFe2O4 spinel layer heightens oxidation resistance and electrical properties through preventing the outward diffusion of Cr3+ and inward diffusion of O2-. This work verifies that the Co-containing protective coating prepared in Ar is a promising coating material for SOFC applications.