Abstract: Experiments of chemical mechanical polishing 316L stainless steel were conducted under acid condition, with 1, 2, 4-triazole (TAZ) or benzotriazole (BTA) as the corrosion inhibitor, to study the effect of TAZ and BTA and the mechanisms. The polished surfaces of 316L stainless steel were observed by using a white light interferometer. The structures of the inhibitors were characterized with an infrared spectrometer. The hydrophobic property of the passivation membrane on the surface was surveyed by measuring the contact angle.The effect and the type of inhibitor were analyzed by using an electrochemical workstation. The results show that the material removal rate of the steel decreases with the increase of the TAZ or BTA content. The minimum surface roughness of polished steel is 2.64 nm when adding 3mmol/L TAZ or 2.53 nm when adding 2 mmol/L BTA. It is found that both inhibitors contain N-functional groups, which will strengthen the hydrophobicity of the passivation membrane generated on the surface of 316L stainless steel and reduce the density of the corrosion current. However, the membrane generated when using TAZ is weaker. Both inhibitors are anodic-suppressed ones.