Corrosion of X-70 pipe steel as a function of stress distribution was investigated by scanning localized electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (LEIS) technique. The deformation-induced stress, if not sufficiently high, has ail inhibitive effect on corrosion reaction, pitting occurrence and crack initiation in pipe steel under high-pH condition. Such an inhibitive effect is due to the enhanced generation of carbonate product and the resultant surface block effect at the stressed zones. The tensile and compressive stresses have identical effect oil inhibition of dissolution and pitting of the steel. However, tensile stress enhances the steel dissolution more significantly than compressive stress, and thus, generates more carbonate product, resulting in higher localized impedance. Pits are easy to occur around the neutral axis of the U-bend specimen, where the steel deformation and the resultant stress are ignorable. For pipelines encountering non-uniform stress distribution, the role of stress in crack initiation is critically different. Scanning LEIS technique provides a promising method to map and characterize corrosion of the steel as a function of the stress distribution. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.