The inhibitive action of the aqueous extract of the root of shirsh el zallouh (Ferula harmonis) toward the corrosion of C-steel in HCl solution was investigated. The inhibition efficiency was measured using weight loss and potentiostatic polarization techniques. The electrochemical behavior of the extract was investigated using cyclic voltammetry. It was found that the addition of the extract reduces the corrosion rate of C-steel. The inhibition efficiency increases with increasing extract concentration. The inhibitive effect of the tested extract was discussed in view of adsorption of its components on the steel surface. The adsorption of the extract components on the C-steel surface follows Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The inhibition efficiency decreases as the temperature is increased. The presence of extract increases the activation energy of the corrosion process of C-steel. The curves of cyclic voltammetry technique showed that the adsorbed molecules reduce the charge density on the steel surface. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.