Abstract: With the change of modern warfare situation, the army has put forward the goal of rapid response and deployment, so the weaponry has been moving in the direction of light-weight. Light alloy is an important part of the weaponry light-weight field, but the tough service environment of weaponry threatens the long-term stability of light alloy service. Surface technology is a convenient and efficient way to improve the performance of light alloys.The applications of common light alloy materials such as Ti alloy, Al alloy and Mg alloy in the field of weaponry light-weight were reviewed. The failure mechanisms of light alloys in different service environments were summarized, and the research results of surface technology in light alloy protection were introduced. Based on the current findings, the concern of the application of surface technology used in weaponry was pointed out, including insufficient type of multifunctional coating systems and the limitations of single surface technologies. Finally, the development trend of surface technology in the field of weaponry light-weight was prospected, including the research and development of newtype/composite surface technology, and the use of machine learning to accelerate coating composition design.