Graphene-like materials as popular materials have been the research focus in many application fields. Research status of the application of graphene materials in metal corrosion protection was summarized in two aspects as follows. First, the development history and disadvantages of pure graphene films being applied to metal protection were briefly outlined. It was concluded that the graphene film could not be directly covered on metal surfaces for corrosion resistance. In addition, preparation methods and performance of the graphene-reinforced composite protective coatings were introduced in detail. The disadvantages and improvement strategy of this protective method were summarized based on the research status of protective coating modified by graphene-like materials as filler. The strategy was to strengthen compatibility between the graphene materials and the protective coatings by performing molecular (e.g. silane coupling agent and polymer monomer, etc.) modification on surfaces of the graphene-like materials or by coating with nanoparticles (nano-SiO2, Al2O3, TiO2 particles, etc.). On this basis, the concept of "active protection" was proposed and a new graphene material-based corrosion inhibitor nanocontainer was prospected. Meanwhile, it was pointed out that deep protection mechanism of graphene materials must be resolved. In the end, the prospect of graphene-involved protection technology was demonstrated from the perspective of industrial application based on the whole graphene industry.