The SBA-15 molecular sieve was grafted onto the graphene to prepare the functional filler. Which was applied in water-based epoxy resin. The filler was characterized by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms and transmission electron microscopy. The corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of the coating with different amount of filler were characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), salt spray test and adhesion test. The experimental results showed that when adding 1.0% functional filler, the coating had the best electrochemical performance, salt spray resistance and adhesion performance. The anticorrosive property of the composite coating was superior to that of pure epoxy coating, due to the pore/sheet synergistic of the functional filler added. The time of corrosion particles to the surface of the metal substrate was delayed effectively.