Mg-Zn alloys were prepared by powder metallurgy method using Mg powder and Zn powder as initial materials. The effects of the Zn content on sintering density, microstructure, phase composition, bending properties and micro-hardness of the Mg-Zn alloys were studied. The corrosion resistance of the Mg-Zn alloys was also measured. The function mechanism of Zn element during the powder metallurgy process was analyzed. It is shown that the sintered compacts have finer grain size and higher sintered density upon Zn addition. The density of the sintered products increases with increasing Zn contents. XRD analysis shows the Mg-3 wt% Zn alloy is mainly composed of α-Mg phase. When the content of Zn is 4 wt%, the Mg-Zn alloys are composed of α-Mg and MgZn₂ phases. With the increase of the Zn content, the bending strength of the Mg-Zn alloys first increases and then decreases, but the micro-hardness of Mg-Zn alloys always increases. The bending strength and micro-hardness of Mg-3 wt% Zn alloys are 123.6 MPa and 101.7 HV, respectively, which are 58% and 45% higher than those of pure Mg samples. Corrosion resistance measurements show that the corrosion rate of the Mg-Zn alloys decreases with the addition of Zn element, with the Mg-3 wt% Zn alloy showing the lowest corrosion rate and best corrosion resistance.