Corrosion of sheet samples of zinc alloys and zinc of 99.995% purity has been studied in alkaline and weakly acid chloride electrolytes solutions. The samples were subjected to the initial surface treatment, mechanical or chemical, and the rate of their corrosion in electrolyte solutions with no access to oxygen was measured over the span of 30 days by monitoring the volume of evolved hydrogen. Structural properties of the surface layers of zinc samples were studied using X-ray diffraction technique. The corrosion kinetics of zinc in various media is related to zinc alloy composition, state of the sample surface, as well as to the effect of organic inhibiting agents added to the electrolyte solutions.