If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -This study aims to study electrochemically and by weight-loss experiments the effect of UAE Rhazya Stricta Decne extract on the corrosion inhibition of mild steel in 1.0 M HCl solution, which will serve researchers in the field of corrosion. Design/methodology/approach -Weight loss measurements were carried out on mild steel specimens in 1.0 M HCl and in 1.0 M HCl containing various concentrations (ranging from 2.0 to 0.002 g/L.) of the UAE Rhazya Stricta Decne extract at temperatures ranging from 303 to 343 K. Findings -The aqueous Rhazya Stricta Decne leaves extract was found to be a highly efficient inhibitor for mild steel in 1.0 M HCl solution, reaching about 90 per cent at 2.0 g/L and 303 K, a concentration considered to be very moderate. Even with one-tenth of that concentration, 0.2 g/L, an inhibition of about 82 per cent was obtained at 303 K. The rate of corrosion of the mild steel in 1.0 M HCl is a function of the concentration of the Rhazya Stricta Decne extract. This rate increases as the concentration of the Rhazya Stricta Decne extract is increased. The percentage of inhibition in the presence of this inhibitor was decreased with temperature which indicates that physical adsorption was the predominant inhibition mechanism because the quantity of adsorbed inhibitor decreases with increasing temperature. Practical implications -This inhibitor could have application in industries, where HCl solutions at elevated temperatures are used to remove scale and salts from steel surfaces, such as acid cleaning of tankage and pipeline, and may render dismantling unnecessary. Originality/value -This paper is intended to be added to the family of green corrosion inhibitors which are highly efficient and can be used in the area of corrosion prevention and control.