Purpose This study aims to evaluate the protection performance of zinc as sacrificial anode for ABS A steel in the presence of H2S under different temperatures, pH and salinities. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, weight loss measurements and electrochemical measurements are used to evaluate the corrosion degree of zinc and ABS A steel. Findings Under the conditions involved in this work, it is shown that zinc is a nice sacrificial anode with the reason of its stable potential and excellent anode current efficiency according to the relevant standard. And it is also found that the hydrogen evolution does not occur on ABS A steel specimens. The potential difference between cathode and anode is suitable; thus, it can be concluded that each steel is well protected. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no other study has analyzed the protection mechanism and effect of zinc as sacrificial anode in H2S-containing environments under high temperature at present.