An environmental friendly anodizing treatment (Anomag) from a phosphate-based solution without heavy metals on AZ91D magnesium alloy was studied. The characteristics of the coatings,such as structure, composition and corrosion resistance were investigated. The effects of this anodizing treatment on the mechanical properties were examined. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that the structure of the coatings is amorphous or glassy. In salt spray tests coatings with an average thickness of 10μm had an anticorrosive performance of over 1000 hours. Fatigue tests revealed that anodizing onto AZ91D magnesium alloy does not affect the fatigue strength. These results demonstrate the utility of this anodizing treatment on magnesium alloy for application as a structural material, such as in the automotive field.