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• CSP and MSP are used to improve the fatigue property of bare and MAO coated Al. • CSP and MSP introduce a grain-refined and CRS affected layer on surface. • CSP and MSP is more appropriate for MAO coated and bare Al, respectively. • Crack initiation stage dominates the fatigue property of bare Al. • Crack propagation stage dominates the fatigue property of MAO coated Al. Conventional shot peening (CSP) and micro-shot peening (MSP) are used to enhance the fatigue property of bare and micro-arc oxidation (MAO) coated 6082-T6 aluminum. The difference in the anti-fatigue strengthening mechanism of CSP and MSP on bare and MAO coated 6082-T6 aluminum alloy is revealed. Results show that MSP provides a more significant improvement in fatigue properties of bare specimens than CSP since the intensely inhibiting effect on crack initiation. Nevertheless, MAO coating impairs the surface integrity of MSP specimens, thus reducing the crack initiating life. In comparison, the effect of deeper affected layer induced by CSP on the improvement of crack propagating life is mostly retained after the MAO process. Hence, for the MAO coated specimen, the CSP prior-treatment is more effective in improving its fatigue property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]