The corrosion behaviour of the sol-gel coatings doped with cerium chloride or cerium nitrate on 2024-T3 aluminum alloy was investigated by using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and immersion tests. The sol-gel matrix was obtained through hydrolysis, condensation of 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS) and tetramethoxysilane (TMOS), using diethylentriamine as curing agent. The results indicated that cerium nitrate with concentration of 1 x 10(-3) mol L-1 in the silane solution was excellent on self-healing for the sol-gel coating, while cerium chloride had no obvious effect. This result suggested that the introduction of Cl- promoted the under-film pitting of 2024-T3 substrate. It was found that Ce(OH)(3) and Ce(OH)(2)(2+) simultaneously existed in the silane solution by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Ce(OH)(2)(2+) transformed to CeO2 due to high-temperature curing of sol-gel matrix demonstrated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. Therefore, it can be considered that Ce(OH)(3) and CeO2 played inhibition roles in the corrosion process of the sol-gel coatings. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.