A simple surface pre-treatment method was attempted to establish a stable passive layer on the surface of surgical grade stainless steel (SS) of type 316L for biomedical applications. Surgical grade type 316L SS specimens were subjected to H3PO4 treatment for 1 h by completely immersing them in the acid solutions to develop a passive barrier film. The effect of various concentrations of phosphoric acid on the localized corrosion resistance behavior of type 316L SS was investigated through electrochemical techniques using cyclic polarization studies and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to evaluate the nature and composition of the passive films. The surface morphology and relative elemental composition of the untreated and acid treated surfaces subjected to anodic polarization was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) techniques, respectively. Compared with untreated (pristine) 316L SS, the 40% acid treated surface formed a stable passive layer that had superior corrosion resistance.