The ability of new synthesized non ionic surfactants (I and II) to protect carbon steel in acid chloride solution was investigated using potentiostatic polarization, open circuit potential, weight loss and surface tension measurements. The experimental results showed that these inhibitors revealed a very good corrosion inhibition even at low concentrations. The percentage inhibition efficiency (eta%) increases by increasing the inhibitor concentration until the critical micelle concentration (cmc) is reached. It was found that, the adsorption ability of the surfactant molecules on carbon steel surface increased with the increase of the molecular size of the surfactant. Potentiostatic polarization curves indicate that the inhibitors under investigation act as mixed type. Finally, the mechanism of carbon steel dissolution in acidic medium was discussed both in absence and presence of the inhibitor molecules. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.