Type 316L stainless steel is widely used as biomedical implants owing to its high mechanical strength, biocompatibility and low cost. However, they are susceptible to the localized corrosion in the human body causing the release of metal ions into the tissues surrounding the implants and subsequent allergens and carcinogens. To improve the corrosion behavior of AISI 316L stainless steel substrates, a novel nanostructured forsterite coating was deposited on the stainless steel substrates by electrophoretic deposition (EPD) method. Pure nanostructured forsterite was synthesized using a mechanical activation route assisted with heat treatment. In order to increase forsterite powders’ surface charge, the synthesized powders were then immersed in a slurry containing 0.5 wt.% Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The suspension was prepared by mixing the PVA coated forsterite powders in methanol media and electrophoretically deposited onto stainless steel substrate for 1, 3 and 5 min under voltages of 10, 15, 20 and 25 V. Deposited coatings for 5 minutes under 25V was homogeneous and adhesive. To preserve the nanometric dimension of wet coatings, they were subjected to a two-step sintering process. The coatings were crack-free and homogenous exhibiting good adhesion to the substrate. Moreover, no decomposition of the forsterite coating was observed after two-step sintering. Pull-off and standard Vickers diamond pyramid indenter tests were utilized to evaluate the mechanical properties of the coatings. The bioactivity of the prepared specimens was evaluated in simulated body fluid (SBF) at 37?C for up to 28 days. To assess the general and localized corrosion behavior of the AISI 316L stainless steel in ringer solution under cyclic polarization, the substrates with different roughness (polished, grinded up to 400 grit and sandblasted) and chemical surface treated in nitric acid (40 vol.%) and sulfuric acid (20 vol.% and 15 vol.%), were employed. Considering the radial crack length measurements, the fracture toughness of the coating was obtained 1.18 MPa m 0.5 . The sandblasted substrate showed the highest cohesive strength (12.6 MPa), while the lowest one was observed for the polished substrate (6.9 MPa). The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations of soaked samples confirmed the bone-like apatite formation on the nanostructured forsterite coating after immersing in SBF for 28 days pointing to bioactivity behavior of the coating. The corrosion tests indicated that the forsterite coatings act as barrier on the surface and decreased the corrosion current density and increased corrosion potential. The coated substrates which were grinded and passivated in 40 vol.% nitric acid and 20 vol.% sulfuric acid illustrated break down potentials (E b ) of 652 and 518 mV, respectively. These values were considerably higher in comparison to those for the uncoated and coated (without surface modification) samples indicating improvement in localized corrosion resistance. Keywords : AISI 316L, Bioactivity, Electrophoretic deposition, Forsterite bioceramic, Surface treatment.