We successfully obtained sonicated Ni-B-Ce coating on the surface of low carbon steel (Q235) through ultrasonic-assisted electroless plating with the deposition time of 60 minutes. The coatings were heat treated at 300, 500 and 800°C for 2 hours. The results showed the Ni-B-Ce coating changed from amorphous to crystallised and produced Ni 3 B and Ni 2 B phases after heat treatment. The addition of Ce changed the crystallisation temperatures of Ni-B-Ce coating after heat treatment to 562 and 692°C, which differed from those of Ni-B coating (298, 371 and 411°C). It also improved the activation energy to 156.85 and 214.11 kJ mol −1 , which was much higher than those of 25.80 and 50.69 kJ mol −1 ). In addition, the 800°C annealed coatings showed notable improvement in hardness (1212 HV 10 ) and corrosion properties (3.01 μA cm −2 ) which could be ascribed to the formation of Ni 3 B and Ni 2 B phases.