The inhibition of mild steel corrosion in 1 M HCl aqueous solution by 3-amino-2-methylbenzylalcohol (AMBA) was investigated using weight loss, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), potentio-dynamic polarization (PDP) and cyclic voltammametry (CV) techniques. Attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR), contact angle (CA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements were carried out to confirm the adsorption of AMBA on mild steel surface. Computer simulations using density functional theory (DFT) and Monte Carlo methodologies were further employed to provide insights into the mechanism of interaction between the inhibitor and the steel surface. All the results confirmed that AMBA is a good corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in 1 M HCl. The addition of NaI was found to increase the inhibition effect of AMBA on mild steel to a considerable extent. DFT results reveal that the N atom together with the pi-systems in the aromatic ring were the active sites for the interaction of AMBA with steel surface. Furthermore, the negative value of the adsorption energy obtained from the Monte Carlo simulation indicates the stability of the adsorbed inhibitor film on the steel surface. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.