Green corrosion inhibitors are of great benefit to the protection of pipes or tanks in seawater systems. The properties of the corrosion inhibitor such as toxicity and anticorrosion performance are closely related to its molecular structure. Some thiazole derivatives are commonly known as food flavors. The influences of two thiazole flavor ingredients on Cu corrosion in NaCI solution were analyzed in this study, namely, 4-methyl-5-vinylthiazole (MVF) and 5-(2-hydroxyethyl)-4-methylthiazole (HMT). Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements were employed to evaluate their anti-corrosion abilities. Theoretical calculations were conducted to investigate their possible adsorption modes. The thiazole ring endows the two compounds with the high inhibition performace. However, with a conjugated system, the ethenyl has a more pronounced contribution to electron donation and adsorption ability on the Cu surface than hydroxyethyl group. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.