Abstract: Micro-arc oxidation and magnetron sputtering, as relatively novel surface modification technologies, possess lots of advantages, but they also inevitably have shortcomings.Therefore, the combination of the two technologies has attracted the attention of researchers.The formation mechanisms of the coatings prepared separately by micro-arc oxidation and magnetron sputtering, as well as the characteristics of the corresponding coatings were introduced briefly.The research progress of the composite coatings formed via the combination of micro-arc oxidation and the magnetron sputtering was emphatically summarized, and its development trend was prospected.