To improve the safety of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), co-polyimide (PI) P84 was introduced as a polymeric binder for Al2O3/polymer composite surface coatings on polypropylene (PP) separators. By monitoring the dimensional shrinkage of the PP separators at high temperatures, we verified a synergistic thermal stabilization effect between the Al2O3 ceramic and the PI polymeric binder. Although PI was thermally stable up to 300 °C, a coating consisting solely of PI did not impede the PP separator dimensional changes (−22% at 150 °C). On the other hand, the Al2O3/PI-coated PP separators efficiently impeded the thermal shrinkage (−10% at 150 °C). In contrast, an Al2O3/poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF-HFP) combination lowered the thermal stability of the PP separators (−33% at 150 °C). As a result, the Al2O3/PI-coated PP separators remarkably suppressed the internal short-circuit of the unit half-cells associated with separator thermal shrinkage (100 min at 160 °C), whereas the PVdF-HFP retained only 40 min under identical conditions. The Al2O3/PI-coated PP separators achieved rate capabilities and cell performances similar to those of the bare PP separators. Display omitted •Co-polyimide (PI) is proposed as a polymeric binder for ceramic composite coatings.•Al2O3/PI coatings synergistically enhance thermal stability of separators.•Al2O3/PI coatings effectively improve the LIB safety by blocking short-circuits.