Crystal violet dye (CV) was studied as a corrosion inhibitor for aluminum in hydrochloric acid (1mol dm-3) and potassium hydroxide (0.5moldm-3) solutions in the temperature range 30-60C using the gravimetric technique. The effect of iodide ions on the inhibiting efficacy of CV was also assessed. CV was found to inhibit Al corrosion in both aggressive media, exhibiting greater inhibition efficiency in 1M HCl (83.6%) than in 0.5M KOH (23.0%). Inhibition efficiency in 0.5M KOH was, however, synergistically increased in the presence of iodide ions to attain values up to 85.3%. Inhibition efficiency in the acidic and alkaline solutions increased with CV concentration but decreased with rise in temperature, suggesting physical adsorption of CV on the Al surface. The calculated values of activation energy (Ea), free energy of adsorption (Gads), and heat of adsorption (Qads) confirm the physisorption mechanism. The inhibitor adsorption characteristics were approximated by the Freundlich adsorption isotherm.