Medium strength low alloy steel is an attractive material for naval and defence applications for its excellent mechanical properties. DMR 249A is extensively used for application of ship building for its superior mechanical properties but owes poor corrosion resistance. In order to overcome the corrosion problem, Weld overlay cladding is used as an effective technique which improves the strength and corrosion resistance but also helps in manufacturing lightweight structures. Aim is to combat the corrosion by weld overlay surface coating using conventional arc welding process and observe the dilution. In the current study, Weld overlay cladding on medium strength low alloy steel (DMR 249A) of 50mm thick is done using manual metal arc welding process (MMAW) with corrosion resistant austenitic stainless steel (308L) electrode. Two layers of coating were done one over the other (each 2mm thick). Weld overlay clads were characterized for metallographic studies to observe the microstructure changes using image analyzer attached to optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Mechanical testing were carried out using micro vickers hardness tester andductility bend test using Universal Testing Machine (UTM). Pitting corrosion behaviour is determined by the potentio-dynamic polarization tests in acidic chloride environment. Inter Granular Corrosion (IGC) was performed in boiling copper sulphate solution as per ASTM A-262 for 15 hours duration. The present investigation established that microstructure studies revealed increase in δ-ferrite in the weld overlay cladding. Superior mechanical properties are observed in second overlay coating compared to first overlay coating and base metal. Pitting potential in second overlay coating is observed to be more positive when compared with first overlay coating due to increase in chromium content. IGC studies showed that first overlay coating with AISI 308L observed to be more sensitized and having more weight loss which tends to be highly susceptible than second layer coating. It is attributed to the formation of high amount of delta ferrite. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd.