Biodegradable porous magnesium (Mg) with hydroxyapatite (HA) coating suitable for biomedical applications was fabricated. A blend of Mg and NaCl particles was sintered by spark plasma sintering (SPS), and then the NaCl was dissolved to obtain a porous structure. Different levels of porosity (50%, 60% and 70%) were achieved by adjusting the volume fraction of NaCl, while preserving high pore interconnectivity with a large pore size of~240 μm. In addition, a dense HA coating layer comprised of needle-shaped HA crystals was formed on the surface of the porous Mg by treatment in an aqueous solution. Both bare and HA-coated porous Mg specimens with a porosity of 60% exhibited ductile behavior under compressive loading and similar levels of ultimate compressive strength (~15 MPa). However, HA coating significantly enhanced the corrosion resistance of porous Mg.