The ceria coatings on AZ91 substrates were successfully synthesized by chemical conversion and the corrosion resistance of AZ91 samples with and without ceria coatings were evaluated by means of electrochemical corrosion in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution. According to the parameters derived from the polarization date, the Icorr (the corrosion current density) values of the coated samples are smaller than that of bare one, indicating that the corrosion resistance of AZ91 alloys has been improved to some extent. The influence of fluoridated pretreatment, inter-layer heat treatment, sintering temperature and the layer of films on the performance of ceria coatings were also investigated. It was found that the inter-layer heat treatment has no influence on improving the anticorrosion resistance of AZ91 alloy. In comparison with the bare one, the Icorr of optimal sample is about 0.0219mA/cm2, which decreases by two orders of magnitude, indicating that the ceria coatings could significantly improve the corrosion resistance of AZ91 magnesium alloy.