Sodium tungstate (Na2WO4) and hexamethylene tetramine (HMTA) are both eco-friendly corrosion inhibitors. In this work, their synergistic corrosion inhibition effects on reinforcing steel in the simulated polluted concrete pore solution containing Cl- were studied by electrochemical techniques including electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic anodic polarization curve measurements. The morphologies and compositions of the steel surface were characterized by Electron Micro-Probe Analyzer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The results showed that the serious steel corrosion took place in the solution with pH 11.00 and 0.5 M NaCl. However, a stable passive region occurred in the anodic polarization curve of the steel and its corrosion current density decreased dramatically after addition of a mixed inhibitor with 0.01 M Na2WO4 and 0.01 M HMTA to the solution. The inhibition efficiency of the mixed inhibitor reached 97.1%. The surface analyses revealed that a protective composite film was formed on the steel in the solution with the mixed inhibitor, which indicated that the mixed inhibitor had a synergistic inhibition effect on the steel corrosion. Our study also indicated that the mixed inhibitor could effectively control corrosion of the reinforcing steel in cement mortar. (c) 2015 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.