A novel organic-inorganic Mg(OH)(2)/silane surface layer has been developed for corrosion protection of AZ31 magnesium alloy. The results of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), the immersion tests, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and sellotape tests showed that the Mg(OH)(2)/silane-based composite surface layer possessed excellent corrosion resistance and very good adhesion due to the formation of Si-O-Mg bond between Mg(OH)(2) layer and silane layer. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy tests results indicated that for the long-term corrosion protection of AZ31 the increase of the curing temperature improved the impedance of the composited layer when the curing temperature was lower than 130 degrees C. However, the impedance of the composited layer deceased when the curing temperature was more than 130 degrees C due to the carbonization of the silane layer. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.