Laboratory of Marine Environmental Corrosion and Biofouling, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as the "Laboratory") is an important research base in the field of marine corrosion and protection in China. The Laboratory has carried out research on marine corrosion and protection since 1960, with a history of 65 consecutive years. In 1994, under the leadership of Academician Hou Baorong, the Laboratory of Marine Environmental Corrosion and Protection was formally established, with only 12 staff members initially. After years of development, the Laboratory has grown from a team of more than a dozen people at its founding to a high-level scientific research team of over 200 members, including 72 permanent staff and 133 master's and doctoral students in residence.The team comprises 1 academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, 1 academician of the German National Academy of Sciences, and 1 academician of the Eurasian Academy of Sciences, along with more than 60 researchers holding doctoral degrees or above. It has developed into a research team with a reasonable structure, strong innovation capability, and international competitiveness.

The Laboratory focuses on the scientific and technological commanding height of "theories of marine corrosion protection and green, long-acting anti-corrosion and anti-fouling materials and technologies". It conducts systematic research focusing on the mechanism of marine biological corrosion and fouling, marine environmental corrosion, fouling and control technologies, corrosion and protection technologies in extreme environments, and corrosion damage mechanisms and intelligent perception of marine materials. It also lays out cutting-edge tasks such as corrosion laws in the open and deep sea, microbe-material coupling mechanisms, advanced corrosion-resistant and anti-fouling materials, and intelligent monitoring and early warning.

As the only national institution authorized by the Ministry of Education to confer master's and doctoral degrees in the major of "Marine Corrosion and Protection", the Laboratory has accumulated profound expertise in this field over 60 years. It took the lead in proposing the corrosion mechanism of the marine splash zone, won China’s first international T.P. Hoar Award for academic papers, and undertook the first National Science and Technology Support Program project. In recent years, the Laboratory has edited and published 14 academic monographs (including Corrosion Costs in China), published more than 700 papers (nearly 400 indexed by SCI), obtained over 100 authorized national invention patents, and led the formulation of 6 national standards. The Laboratory has established a systematic network of national and provincial-level scientific research platforms, including the State Key Laboratory of Marine Key Materials (co-built with Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology & Engineering), National Engineering Research Center for Marine Corrosion Protection, Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Corrosion and Biofouling of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shandong Key Laboratory of Corrosion Science, Shandong Technology Innovation Center for Marine Corrosion and Protection, Shandong Engineering Research Center for Advanced Marine Anti-Corrosion and Anti-Fouling Materials and Technologies, Qingdao Engineering Research Center for Advanced Marine Anti-Corrosion and Anti-Fouling Materials, and Qingdao Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Corrosion and Biofouling.

Adhering to the tenet of "rooting in coastal waters, expanding into the open and deep sea, and serving the major national needs", the Laboratory has continuously provided scientific and technological support and talent guarantee for the corrosion protection of China's marine engineering facilities, the long-term safe operation of new energy equipment, and the sustainable development of the marine ecological environment.