The work aims to prepare mechanically deposited Cd coatings and study their microstructure and properties. The pure superfine cadmium powder was used as the cadmium source to prepare Cd coating on the surface of Q235 by mechanical deposition with activator. The microstructure and chemical composition of the coating were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and own energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The phase composition of the coating was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The porosity of the coating was analyzed by the iron reagent method. The bonding strength of the coating was analyzed by the cross-hatch method. The corrosion resistance of the coating was analyzed by electrochemical polarization method, neutral salt spray accelerated corrosion test and immersion test. The mechanically deposited Cd coating was an anodic protective coating formed by cadmium powder particles through physical bonding. No penetrating pores were found in the coating layer and the bonding between the substrate and the coating was good. When the coating was 20 μm, the self-corrosion potential (-743 mV) of mechanically deposited Cd coating was about 500 mV higher than that of mechanically deposited zinc (-1307 mV), and the self-corrosion current density was reduced by about 2 orders of magnitude, which significantly reduced the corrosion tendency and corrosion rate of the coating. Under neutral salt spray conditions, the mechanically deposited Cd coatings showed 5% red embroidery for 600 h. which was about 10 times longer than the time when mechanical galvanizing showed 5% red embroidery (72 h). The cadmium coating prepared on the surface of Q235 by mechanical deposition is an anodic protective coating. The corrosion resistance of the coating is about 10 times higher than that of mechanical galvanizing. The cadmium coating has excellent corrosion resistance.