Corrosion is one of the prevalent causes of materials failure and waste. The corrosion mechanisms can typically be divided into chemical, electro-chemical, and energetic particle induce corrosion. Plasma surface modification is a novel concept to combat surface corrosion by producing new components, phases and structures on the materials surface to improve surface properties such as corrosion resistance, mechanical strength, electrical and optical performances, etc., This technique has may unique and attractive advantages compared  with simple  surface coating and electroplating and can be applied more extensively to different types of materials. This paper reviews the recent research activities and results with regard to the enhancement of corrosion resistance of materials by plasma surface modification techniques including plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII), ion beam enhanced deposition (IBED), and plasma electrolysis processing. The results are compared with those by conventional beam-line ion implantation. The improved surface properties achieved for materials such as Cr4Mo4V used in aerospace earings, stainless steels, aluminium alloys and titanium alloys are discussed in this paper.