With the booming development and improvement of the industries, the employment of alloy materials also increases. However, the corrosion problem of alloy materials has caused incalculable losses to industrial production and ecological environment. In order to reduce the da-mage and impact of various aspects caused by alloy corrosion, domestic and foreign scholars have carried out a large number of researches on alloy corrosion mechanism and protection, and some research progress has been made. Microelectrode array technology is a new type of electrochemical test method between macroscopic classical electrochemical technology and micro-area scanning probe technology. It can not only obtain the overall average information of the large-area electrode of the alloy, but also detect the characteristics of potential and current distribution in the local micro-area of the alloy. Compared with the macroscopic classical electrochemical technology, it can more accurately test the heterogeneous electrochemical information in the local corrosion process of the alloy. The optimization of such microelectrode arrays has been realized with the continuous research and development of scholars at home and abroad. By the combination of other electrochemical testing techniques and surface science and technology methods, the physical, chemical and electrochemical information of the alloy/corrosion solution interface has been enriched. In recent years, a great deal of experts and scholars have used this microelectrode array technology combined with other testing techniques to study the local corrosion process and mechanism of common alloys under different environments and corrosion conditions, and achieved important research progress. The research on the galvanic corrosion behavior and evolution law of different material metals has made a major breakthrough. In addition, the development and application of real-time coupled multi-electrode array sensor (CMAS) probes play an important role in online monitoring/detection of local corrosion of alloys. In this paper, we reviewed the progress of microelectrode array technology in the study of galvanic corrosion, surface coating failure and the influence of corrosion environment on alloy. Then we summarized the merits and demerits of microelectrode array technology in characterizing the local electrochemical heterogeneity of the alloy and the future trend was prospected. © 2019, Materials Review Magazine. All right reserved.
