Firstly, the influence of potassium permanganate‐phosphate treatment on surface topography and wettability of AZ31B sheet was studied in this work. Then, the fiber‐reinforced resin/magnesium alloy composite laminate was prepared, and its properties were measured. Results showed that the concentration of KMnO4 had a significant influence on the contact angle of AZ31B sheet with resin. The optimum process parameters were as follows: KMnO4 25 g/L, NaH2PO4 10 g/L, NaAc 20 g/L, time 5 min, and temperature 75 °C. After such treatment, the contact angle of magnesium alloy with 760E resin was 36.4°. When the concentration of KMnO4 was 25 g/L, a uniform and compact conversion coating formed. Component analysis showed that the conversion coating mainly consisted of phosphate and oxides of Mg, Zn, and Ca. After the optimum process of potassium permanganate‐phosphate treatment, the magnesium alloy sheet was used for the preparation of fiber reinforced resin/magnesium alloy composite laminate. At last, the corrosion resistance of such composite laminate was tested in 5 wt% NaCl solution at 95 °C for 168 h. Results showed that there were no signs of corrosion on magnesium alloy surface.