The influences of the growing process of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) in seawater system on the medium state and corrosion behavior of carbon steel were studied by detecting solution state parameters and using corrosion electrochemical methods. The growing process of SRB in the seawater shows the three stages of growing, death and residual phases. The solution state parameters of the concentration of sulfide, the pH value and the redox potential changed during the three stages of the SRB growing process. And the corrosion rate of D36 carbon steel was accelerated during the growing phase and stable during the death and residual phases. The results indicate that the medium state and the corrosion rate of the steel do not depend on the number of active SRB, but depend on the accumulation of the metabolism products of SRB. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.