The oxidation of a zirconium based alloy (recrystallised Zircaloy-4) has been studied at 500 degreesC, by thermogravimetry under controlled partial pressures of water vapour and hydrogen. The study is restricted to the pre-transition state of oxidation, the aim being to identify the rate-limiting step of the oxide growth. It has been verified experimentally that the system is in a steady state during the pre-transition period. Moreover, using a method based on the isolation method, it has been shown that the oxidation could be described by a single rate-limiting step only when a weight gain of 7.5mg.dm(-2) has been reached. Since the kinetic curves are not parabolic, a diffusion model has been proposed, which takes into account the effect of barriers on the diffusion (such as pores, blisters, cracks... in the oxide layer) and which is in good agreement with the experimental curves. Then, numerical fitting has shown that the beginning of the oxidation could be interpreted by a mixed reaction-diffusion steady solution, which tends towards a single diffusion rate-limiting step when the oxide layer is thick enough (about 0.5 mum).