A Zn–Al composite coating was successfully deposited on Q235 steel by cold spray technology for the corrosion protection in the marine atmosphere. The microstructure and corrosion behavior of the prepared coating was studied byScanning Electron Microscope (SEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), salt spray test and electrochemical experiments. A 2400-h neutral salt spray corrosion test (with a corrosion medium of 3.5% sodium chloride solution) showed that the prepared cold-sprayed Zn-Al composite coating has excellent anti-corrosion properties. Based on the microstructure evolution and corrosion products analysis, droplets’ flow-driven ‘synergistic corrosion effect’ was proposed to explain the co-corrosion behavior of Zn and Al particles in the composite coating.