Corrosion problem can affect safety and durability of metal materials, hence it is the main cause of failure and destruction of engineering equipment and facilities, which has seriously damaged economic development and personal safety. The use of coatings is the most effective and cost-optimal way to prevent corrosion. As ever higher demands are made for coatings, composite coatings have aroused general concern of science researchers. Graphene has excellent properties such as high conductivity, high hardness and excellent barrier properties, but it also features in hydrophobicity and easy agglomeration. The structure of graphene oxide is similar to that of graphene. Its high aspect ratio can provide effective barrier properties and abundant oxygen-containing groups on the surface can provide reaction sites for further chemical modification to achieve uniform dispersion in substrate. Therefore, graphene oxide is an ideal carbon material which can be used to improve corrosion resistance of coatings. Preparation and chemical modification methods of graphene oxide were briefly introduced. Advantages and disadvantages as well as action mechanism of different chemical modification methods were compared. Then research status of graphene oxide composite anti-corrosive coatings was presented by category. Effects of graphene oxide content, dispersibility and preparation conditions on the composite coatings were discussed. Finally, major challenges of graphene oxide composite coatings were discussed in different aspects (preparation technology, dispersion technology, anticorrosive mechanism and engineering application), and development direction of graphene oxide coatings was also predicted.