Zn-Fe and Y-modified Zn-Fe coatings were prepared on 42CrMo steel through pack cementation pro-cesses at 370,390 and 410 ℃ for 4 h.Y modification was achieved through the co-deposition of Zn and Y2O3.The effects of Y modification on microstructure,formation and corrosion behavior of the Zn-Fe coating were investigated.The coating thickness increased with an increase in tem-perature.The Y-modified Zn-Fe coating was thicker than the plain Zn-Fe coating.Both the Zn-Fe coating and Y-modified Zn-Fe coating showed single-layered struc-tures,but the overall microstructure was improved by Y modification.The activation energies for Zn-Fe coating and Y-modified Zn-Fe coating were 113.15 and 80.65 kJ·mol-1,respectively.The Zn-Fe coating consisted of FeZn13 and Fe11Zn40 phases.The effects of Y modifi-cation on the corrosion behavior of the Zn-Fe coating were evaluated through an immersion test and polarization measurements.The results showed that the corrosion resistance was improved by Y modification.