The kinetics of complete oxidation of different samples of zinc powder by air has been investigated by thermogravimetric measurements under isothermal conditions in the range 973-1,173 K. Particles size was in the 63-80 lm range. We succeeded in carrying out the full oxidation of the powders far above the zinc-metal melting point (692.6 K). This phenomenon is linked to the presence of a thin ZnO layer which confines the liquid metal during the oxidation process. Two kinetics models have been verified. The apparent activation energies obtained from the Arrhenius law were 128 kJ mol -1 and 129 kJ mol -1 , respectively.