Abstract Aluminum alloy 2017, as one of the aluminum alloys which are used in aircraft structures, is a precipitation-hardened and anodized material. It was heat treated to the natural aging condition (T4). An electrolyte containing sulfuric acid and chromic acid (SCA) was used for anodization treatment of the AA 2017 T4 alloy. The present work investigates the effect of anodized film of 7 μm in thickness on hardness, mechanical strength and fatigue behavior of the alloy. The results showed that the ultimate strength, yield strength and hardness of the heat treated alloy increased by 96, 98.5 and 7.6 % respectively as compared with that of the untreated one. Similar results showed that the hardness of the anodized specimen increased by 12.5 % with a slight decrease by 1.9 and 4.6 % in tensile ultimate and yield strengths respectively as compared with that of the unanodized one. The anodized film affects the fatigue behavior under the rotating–bending fatigue test of R = –1. The effect of anodized film on fatigue lifetime at low and high stress levels is discussed.