A single phase Cu-Zn-Bi film is fabricated on the steel wire by electrodeposition. Bi addition (similar to 1 wt.%) greatly increases the corrosion resistance of brass (Cu-36 wt.% Zn) film in a 0.05 M K2SO4 solution as shown by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impendence spectroscopy (EIS) experiments. It is proposed that the main reason for the improvement in the corrosion resistance by the Bi addition is that it greatly increased the crack resistance, which thus prevents crack-induced galvanic corrosion occurring between the brass film and the steel substrate. (C) 2011 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.