Copper silica composite coatings are an attractive alternative to chromium and nickel coatings in order to avoid environmental problems and for application in electrical devices. However, co-deposition of SiO2 particles with metals occurs to a rather limited extent, generally under 1%, due to the hydrophilicity of SiO2, which makes the incorporation of particles in a metallic matrix difficult. To overcome this drawback, the influence of cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) on the deposition and corrosion behavior of Cu-SiO2 coatings on steel has been studied. It was established that CTAB plays a beneficial role in SiO2 suspension stabilization, promotes the co-deposition of nanoparticles in the copper matrix and improves the deposit morphology and structure. Consequently, a higher corrosion resistance of Cu-SiO2 deposits obtained in the presence of CTAB was noticed. The most important effect was observed in the case when CTAB was used in concentration of 10(-3) M in the electroplating bath.