Yttria stabilized zirconia ͑YSZ͒ coating was formed on an AZ31 Mg alloy by aerosol deposition ͑AD͒ at room temperature, and its electrochemical corrosion properties were investigated in 3.5 wt % NaCl solution by potentiodynamic polarization test, potentiostatic test, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy ͑EIS͒. The crack-free, dense, and ϳ4 m thick YSZ coating was successfully obtained by the AD method. The YSZ coating was polycrystalline and composed of ϳ10 nm nanocrystallites. The potentiodynamic test indicated that the YSZ coated AZ31 Mg alloy had a more positive corrosion potential ͑−1.39 V vs SCE͒, much lower corrosion current density ͑0.02 A/cm 2 ͒, and much higher polarization resistance ͑2500 k⍀ cm 2 ͒ in comparison to an uncoated Mg alloy. The pitting corrosion was observed in the YSZ coated Mg alloy, and the determined pitting potential ͑E b ͒ was close to −0.8 V vs SCE. EIS results demonstrated that the impedance of the YSZ coated Mg alloy was ϳ10 7 ⍀ cm 2 at low frequencies, which was ϳ5 orders of magnitude higher than that of the uncoated Mg alloy. Furthermore, the high impedance ͑ Ͼ 10 6 ⍀ cm 2 ͒ of the YSZ coated Mg alloy was still maintained after 120 h immersion in 3.5 wt % NaCl solution. Consequently, the corrosion resistance of the AZ31 Mg alloy was significantly improved by the AD YSZ coating.