This paper presented a new surface decorating method for plywood. The main procedures are: 1) applying a powder coating on a pre-treated plywood surface followed by; 2) a glue for transfer printing after the coating has solidified; 3) transferring a pattern to the plywood surface after the adhesive is cured. The effects of the following substrate pre-treatment procedures were investigated: sanding, spreading polyvinyl acetate or PF resin, filling with putty, the temperature and time of powder coating solidification, print transfer performance including appearance, adhesive force, and resistance to abrasion. The results show: 1) the plywood with powder coating applied to the putty filled surface （thickness less than 0.1 mm） shows better properties for the surface coating and for the effect of transfer printing. 2) Suitable coating solidification conditions are under 180℃ in the drying cabinet for 20 minutes. Under these conditions, the adhesive force grade reaches the 3rd level and both wear ability and resistance to water reaches the first level. 3) The optimum parameters for transfer printing are under 160℃ for 15 minutes and the dye shifting rate could reach 70.5%. By then, the plywood can be coated with a fine-pattern surface.