The changes in intermetallic phases of Mg-6%Al-5%Pb (Mg-Al-Pb) alloy prepared by powder metallurgy and their effects on electrochemical properties were studied. Experimental results showed that coarse Mg
17
Al
12
phases (with size ranges from 20 μm to 70 μm) and fine Mg
2
Pb phases (with the size of 100 nm scale) formed in the mixed Al、Pb and Mg powder during the hot press sintering procedure. Fine Mg
2
Pb phases exhibit strong diffusional ability to diffuse into Mg
17
Al
12
phases. Extruding further promotes the diffusion of Mg
2
Pb phases into Mg
17
Al
12
phases. Solution treatment produced a mixed microstructure which is Mg
17
Al
12
phase containing Mg
2
Pb phases inside and made other Mg
2
Pb phases homogeneously distributed in Mg matrix. Mg
17
Al
12
phases and the gathered Mg
2
Pb phases will accumulate the Mg(OH)
2
corrosion products, which impedes the subsequent discharge behavior. Homogeneously distributed Mg
2
Pb phases will fall off during discharge, which makes the discharge curve more stable. The mixed microstructure has positive effect on corrosion resistance and discharge potential. Therefore, solution-treated alloy shows the highest negative potential and the smoothest curve during the galvanostatic discharge test. Compared with the commercial AZ61 sheet, solution-treated alloy exhibit much higher anode properties in Mg/PbCl2 battery test. Thus, the solution-treated alloy could serve as an excellent anode in seawater-activated batteries.