The inhibition performance of three Schiff bases containing disulfide bond as corrosion inhibitors for mild steel in 2.0 M HCl has been investigated by weight loss measurements, potentiodynamic polarization measurements and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Potentiodynamic polarization study showed that all the inhibitors are mixed type. The adsorption of inhibitors on mild steel surface was found to follow Langmuir adsorption isotherm and the adsorption isotherm parameters (K(ads), Delta G(ads)) were determined. Quantum chemical calculations were further applied to reveal the adsorption structure and explain the experimental results. Some samples of mild steel were examined by SEM. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.