The effectiveness of bismuth ion and tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) as deposit-enhancing additives of zinc electrode has been investigated by means of current-time technique, potentiodynamic polarization and scanning electron microscopy. The experimental results showed that the dendritic, growth of zinc in alkaline zincate solution was inhibited by the addition of Bi3+ and TBAB, respectively. However, at a higher cathodic overpotential TBAB produced little effective suppression on zinc dendrites. Obvious synergistic effect of Bi3+ and TBAB on the dendrite inhibition of zinc electrode was also found.