Corrosion behavior of carbon steel in CO2 aqueous environment containing silty sand was investigated using corrosion mass loss method, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy diffraction spectrum (EDS), and various electrochemical measurements. The results show that the corrosion rate of carbon steel was obviously reduced due to the existence of silty sand. Silty sand promoted the rapid heterogeneous nucleation of corrosion product FeCO3 and simultaneously decreased its grains growth. Silty sand mixed with corrosion product to form the outer layer of corrosion scale with high compactness, blocking the transport of ferrous ions and leading to the formation of the inner layer of corrosion scale without silty sand. The existence of silty sand in the outer layer of corrosion scale inhibited anodic and cathodic currents. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.