The thermally grown oxide (TGO) on the thermal spray bond coat surface was one of the most important factors which would influence the lifetime of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). Pre-diffusion treatment (high temperature vacuum treatment) plays an important role in the growth of the TGO. Results show that the initial thin oxide scale, formed during deposition process, on the as-sprayed bond coating surface has broken and shrunk to discontinuous oxide particles through the elements diffusion during the pre-diffusion. Two kinds of bond coats with different initial oxide scale thicknesses were subjected to the same pre-diffusion. The two pre-diffused bond coats show different results of the average distance between the individual oxide particles. In this study, a three dimensional model with thermal grooving theory was developed to explore the essential condition for the scale breaking and explain the differences of these results. This research can provide reference for the preparation optimization and pre-treatment optimization of bond coat towards high performance TBCs. (C)2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.