A modification chemical inhibitor (phytic acid-modified Mg-Al hydrotalcite) was synthesized via using phytic acid to  chelate  metal  ions.  Mg-Al  hydrotalcite  was  used  as  the  base  material, the phytic  acid  molecules  were  grafted  onto the surface of Mg-Al hydrotalcite via self-assembly through coordination bonds. The effectiveness of phytic acid-modified Mg-Al  hydrotalcite  in  the  inhibition  of  polyethylene  dust  explosion  was  investigated. The  results  showed  that  phytic  acid modification effectively upgraded the inhibition performance of original Mg-Al hydrotalcite. At the phytic acid-modified Mg-Al hydrotalcite inhibition ratio of 1.0, the reduction of maximum explosion pressure and maximum pressure rise rate increased by 21.51% and 26.83% respectively compared to original Mg-Al hydrotalcite. Combining the material characterization and thermal analysis, the inhibition mechanism of phytic acid-modified Mg-Al hydrotalcite on polyethylene dust explosion was deeply revealed.  It  is noticeable that phytic acid-modified Mg-Al hydrotalcite  has a better chemical inhibition  effect than original that. The research results provide a basis for preventing and controlling polyethylene dust explosion disasters, and offer a new insight for the development of novel explosion inhibition materials.