The surface treatment impact on corrosion resistance of the stainless steel AISI 316L welded by the TIG method is studied. Chemical and mechanical surface finishing changes its chemical composition, real size, energy and topography. The mentioned phenomena have great influence on corrosion resistance of the stainless steel which is caused by existence of stable, thin and well adherent passive layer. Because the quality of the passive film is strongly influenced by welding, the surface treatment is very important with regard to its susceptibility to local corrosion. Surfaces of the welded stainless steel were finished by the mechanical methods (grinding, garnet blasting) and chemical one (pickling). The properties of variously prepared surfaces were studied by SEM. Corrosion resistance was determined by the exposition test using for local corrosion evaluation and metallographic analysis. The experimental outcomes confirmed that the surface finishing has significant effect on the corrosion behavior of welded stainless steel AISI 316L. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT