Depositing silver on magnesium alloy by both electroless plating and organic coatings was studied. The organic coating was made by immersing samples in organosilicon heat-resisting varnish. In this method the organic coating acts as interlayer between the substrate and silver film. When the reaction starts, silver deposits directly on the interlayer. X-ray diffraction and SEM analysis were used to determine the composition and morphology of the interlayer and silver film. The potentiodynamic polarization curves for corrosion studies of coated magnesium alloys were performed in a corrosive environment of 3.5% NaCl(mass fraction) at neutral pH (6.9). The results indicate that compared with the substrate, the corrosion resistance of coated magnesium alloys increases greatly. Moreover, the method proposed in this work is environmentally friendly, non-toxic chemicals were used. In addition, it provides a new concept for the corrosion inhibition of magnesium alloys.