In this paper, a new composite coating was fabricated on magnesium alloy by a two-step approach, to improve the corrosion resistance and biocompatibility of Mg-Zn-Y-Nd alloy. First, fluoride conversion layer was synthesized on magnesium alloy surface by immersion treatment in hydrofluoric acid and then, Ti-O film was deposited on the preceding fluoride layer by magnetron sputtering. FE-SEM images revealed a smooth and uniform surface consisting of aggregated nano-particles with average size of 100 nm, and a total coating thickness of similar to 1.5 mu m, including an outer Ti-O film of similar to 250 nm. The surface EDS and XRD data indicated that the composite coating was mainly composed of crystalline magnesium fluoride (MgF2), and non-crystalline Ti-O. Potentiodynamic polarization tests revealed that the composite coated sample have a corrosion potential (E-corr) of -1.60 V and a corrosion current density (I-corr) of 0.17 mu A/cm(2), which improved by 100 mV and reduced by two orders of magnitude, compared with the sample only coated by Ti-O. EIS results showed a polarization resistance of 3.98 k Omega cm(2) for the Ti-O coated sample and 0.42 k Omega cm(2) for the composite coated sample, giving an improvement of about 100 times. After 72 h immersion in SBF, widespread damage and deep corrosion holes were observed on the Ti-O coated sample surface, while the integrity of composite coating remained well after 7 d. In brief, the data suggested that single Ti-O film on degradable magnesium alloys was apt to become failure prematurely in corrosion environment. Ti-O film deposited on fluoride-treated magnesium alloys might potentially meet the requirements for future clinical magnesium alloy stent application. (C) 2011 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.