ZnO/poly(butyl methacrylate) (PBMA) and ZnO-PBMA/polyaniline (PANI) nanolatex composite particles of 50 nm were synthesized by a hydrothermal-sonochemical emulsion polymerization technique. The anticorrosive performance of the synthesized latex was evaluated on a steel substrate. The anticorrosive performance was compared for acid/salt/alkali induced corrosion, It was found that the performance of the ZnO-PBMA coating for acid corrosion was superior to that of the ZnO-PBMA-PANI matrix.