The corrosion behaviour of mild steel and 316L austenitic stainless steel was investigated in saline solution containing 1 and 3% NaCl. Specimens with surface roughness of 200, 600 grit emery paper and 1 μm diamond paste were investigated. The anodic polarization measurement technique was performed at a scan rate of 1 mV/s for a fixed period of 1 hour. Experimental results revealed that chloride ions have a significant effect on the corrosion behaviour of both steels as expected. As the surface roughness of 316L stainless steel increased, the breakdown potential (Ebreak), the free corrosion potential (E corr ) and the width of passivity decreased, hence corrosion rate increased. However, in the case of mild steel specimens, improving surface finish led to shifts in corrosion potential to more noble states and increased the corrosion rate. Metallographic examination of corroded specimens after electrochemical corrosion tests confirmed that the breakdown of the passive region was due to pitting corrosion.