This paper presents the influence of the cycling frequency on the Cr2O3 scale adherence during thermal cycling. Oxidation was performed on pure chromium in air between 800 and 1000degreesC. It has been shown that material losses due to spallation are more important for low frequency cycles (20-4 h). It appears that high frequency thermal cycling (1 h-12 min) leads to lower weight loss due to periodical growth stresses relaxation at short intervals and due to the loss of smaller scale pieces. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.