The effects of NaF, NaCl, NaBr and NaI at various concentrations up to 0.5 M, on the corrosion of magnesium have been investigated by galvanostatic polarisation and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The corrosion parameters namely, open circuit potential, corrosion potential and corrosion current have been obtained from polarisation experiments using a three electrode set up. Influence of different halide ions and their concentration on the corrosion have been enunciated. The extent of electrochemical dissolution of anode observed in polarisation method has been compared with the magnesium content in the medium by AAS. The anode weight loss calculated by AAS is found to be higher than by polarisation method.