Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) with brucite-like layer structure and the facile exchangeability of intercalated anions had attracted tremendous interest in many fields because of their great importance for both fundamental studies and practical applications. Herein zinc-aluminum layered double hydroxides (Zn-Al LDHs) films intercalated with nitrate anions on the magnesium alloy substrate were designed and fabricated via a facile hydrothermal crystallization method. In order to obtain better corrosion resistance, chloride and vanadate anions were intercalated into the LDHs interlayers via the anion-exchange reaction. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) were used to examine structure, composition and morphology of the Zn-Al-NO3 LDHs, Zn-Al-Cl LDHs and Zn-Al-VOX LDHs films. The corrosion resistance of the Zn-Al LDHs with different anion films was estimated by the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization measurement. EIS and polarization curves measurements revealed that the magnesium alloy could be effectively protected by the Zn-Al-Cl LDHs and Zn-Al-VOX LDHs films due to the blocking effect of chloride anions and the control-release ability of vanadate anions. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.