This paper investigates the wet etching of InSb surfaces by two different oxidant agents: Br-2 and H2O2 and the consecutive oxides generation onto the surfaces. The strong dependence between the chemical composition of the etching baths and the nature of the final surface chemistry of this low band-gap III-V semiconductor will be especially highlighted. One aqueous etching solution combined hydrobromic acid and Bromine (HBr-Br-2:H2O) with adjusted concentrations. The other solution combines orthophosphoric and citric acids with hydrogen peroxide (H3PO4-H2O2:H2O). Depending on its composition, each formulation gave rise to variable etching rate. The dosage of Indium traces in the etching solution by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) gives the kinetic variation of the dissolution process. The variations on etching rates are associated to the properties and the nature of the formed oxides on InSb surfaces. Surface characterization is specifically performed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). A clear evidence of the differences between the formed oxides is highlighted. Atomic force microscopy is used to monitor the surface morphology and pointed out that very different final morphologies can be reached. This paper presents new results on the strong variability of the InSb oxides in relation with the InSb reactivity toward environment interaction. (C) 2013 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.i