Objective The variation trend of surface morphology of the Ni-P alloy coating was studied in the plating temperature range of 70 ~95 ℃. In addition, the correlations between alloy hardness, corrosion resistance and surface morphology were discussed. Methods Ni-P alloy coatings were prepared by chemical deposition at different plating temperatures. The surface morphology of Ni-P coatings was characterized by SEM. The hardness of Ni-P coatings was determined. And the corrosion resistance of Ni-P coatings was also characterized by the relative corrosion rate through soaking the samples in chlorhydric acid. Results In the plating temperature range of 70 ~95 ℃, with the increase of the deposition temperature, the surface morphology of Ni-P coatings tended to be denser and smoother at first and then surface coarsening occurred. Both the hardness and corrosion resistance of the Ni-P coatings first increased and then decreased with the increasing deposition temperature. The best surface morphology and the maximum hardness were obtained at 85 ℃ and the deposition temperature range for good corrosion resistance was 85 ~90 ℃. Conclusion The Ni-P coatings with flat, dense and smooth surface, high hardness and good corrosion resistance were prepared at 85 ℃ for 3 h when the solution pH value was 4. 5±0. 1.