An in situ corrosion study of austenitic stainless steel 08CH18N10T in high temperature water was performed. The material understudy is used in the construction of steam generator of PWR (pressurized water reactor) nuclear power stations and is similar to AISI 321 stainless steel. In situ 300-h tests were performed under autoclave conditions at 280 degrees C and 8 MPa and consisted of impedance measurements, polarization measurements and electrochemical noise measurements. The experiments were performed in deionised water with the pH adjusted to 9.5, in the presence/absence of chlorides. An additional modification of corrosivity was achieved by changing oxygen concentration. A detailed analysis of the impedance data is presented identifying in the impedance spectra contributions of oxide, corrosion reaction, double layer and diffusion process. A good agreement was found between corrosion data from electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and that from electrochemical noise (EN) measurements. It was confirmed that the oxide response cannot be attributed to the overall oxide layer but only to the part corresponding to the space charge layer, thus indicating the semi-conductive character of the oxide. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.