Polydopamine (PDA), which is a mussel-inspired synthetic polymer, is widely used in surface modification field because of the high potential of the dopamine functional groups. Herein, we develop an SnO2 nanocontainer and deposit polypyrrole (PPy), molybdate corrosion inhibitors and PDA layers using the layer-by-layer self-assembly technology. Then, the SnO2 nanocontainer were incorporated into the epoxy coating to improve their corrosion resistance and self-healing ability and realize the active corrosion protection of stainless steels. The XRD, FTIR, TGA and Zeta potential results confirm the deposition of each layer on the surface of the SnO2 nanocontainer. The FESEM and HRTEM images confirm the formation of the core-shell structures on the SnO2 nanocontainers. The ICP-MS test indicates the slow-release tendency of the encapsulated molybdate corrosion inhibitors the in neutral environments. Further, the corrosion behaviors of the epoxy-based coatings with/without 10 wt% SnO2 nanocontainers are evaluated using electrochemical tests in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution. Results suggest that epoxy coatings with PDA-decorated SnO2 nanocontainers exhibit a high corrosion resistance and an excellent self-healing performance. The enhanced anti-corrosion and self-healing properties of the epoxy coatings can be attributed to the deposited PDA layer on the SnO2 nanocontainer, which serves as a pH-sensitive gatekeeper that can control the on-demand release of the molybdate corrosion inhibitor and promote the reformation of the cracked polymer networks using the dopamine functional groups and iron oxide. Furthermore, various -OH groups provided by PDA facilitates the dispersion of the SnO2 nanocontainers in epoxy coatings. The application of multi-functional dopamine-based gatekeepers will allow more applications with respect to multi-functional intelligent anti-corrosive coating formulations. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.