Aiming at the demand of metal anti-corrosion, the highly oriented zirconium phosphate/epoxy resin nanocomposite coating was prepared on metal substrate by simple spraying method. The distribution of zirconium phosphate nanoparticles in the nanocomposite coating was investigated by TEM and XRD. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarization curves were used to evaluate the anti-corrosion performance and mechanism of the nanocomposite coating. The results show that the highly oriented zirconium phosphate nanoparticles can effectively increase the diffusion path of water, oxygen and electrolyte, thus improving the anti-corrosion performance of the coating. In addition, the insulated coating can further prevent the migration of corrosive media, increase the resistance of the coating, and significantly improve the long-term protective effect of the epoxy resin coating on metal substrate.