Xanthan gum (XG) and its graft co-polymer have been investigated as corrosion inhibitors for mild steel in 15% HCl. Gravimetric analysis, potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) methods were employed for investigating the effectiveness of these inhibitors. Results indicate that both the inhibitors are of mixed type and follow Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) study also confirmed the protection of the metal surface by XG and xanthan gum-graft-poly(acrylamide) (XG-g-PAM). Theoretical calculations using Density Functional Theory (DFT) were used to establish the correlation between the structure and corrosion protection efficiencies. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.