The corrosion protection of pure aluminium and its alloys AA2024-T3 and AA7075-T6 has been studied in 0.1 M NaCl with and without the addition of Ce(III) chloride, Ce(III) nitrate, Ce(III) acetate and Ce(IV) sulfate. The study of Ce(III) acetate has been scarce but is here shown to be the most effective of the cerium salts studied, especially for AA7075-T6. The inhibition effectiveness of cerium salts is: Ce(III) acetate > Ce(III) chloride > Ce(III) nitrate for the metals studied. Ce(IV) sulfate does not inhibit corrosion. Electrochemical potentiodynamic measurements were used to investigate the mechanism of inhibition by cerium salts. Immersion tests in 0.1 M NaCl, with and without the addition of Ce(III) chloride and Ce(III) acetate, were performed to determine the effects of the inhibitors on the extent of corrosion damage at the surface of all three metals. For pure aluminium the inhibitory effectiveness was 78.5%, 82.6% and 84.0% in the presence of 3 mM Ce(III) nitrate, chloride and acetate, respectively. Aluminium and its alloys 2024-T3 (AA2024-T3) and 7075-T6 (AA7075-T6) generally have good resistance to corrosion under atmospheric conditions. They are used as construction materials, primarily in aircraft applications, because of their physical characteristics such as rigidity and high strength-to-weight ratio.1,2 The main differences between aluminium and its alloys lie in their mechanical and corrosion properties. Aluminium is cold worked, whereas AA2024-T3 and AA7075-T6 are heat treated and cold worked (T3) or artificially aged (T6). The reason for alloying aluminium is to increase strength by forming intermetallic particles, IMs.