Abstract: The influence of applied potential on the fretting corrosion wear behavior of 316L stainless steel in saline solution has been investigated with a test rig of ball on plane contact configuration. It has been found that under anodic polarization conditions, the friction coefficients and especially the steady state fretting wear process is dependent on the anodic polarization parameters. The higher the applied potential, the more severe the fretting damage will be. This is because 316L stainless steel is of high chemical activity under anodic polarization, which promotes the fretting damage of the steel. Contrary to the above, the fretting damage of 316L stainless steel is effectively prevented by cathodic protection. This is because the adhesion between the contact surfaces of the fretting pair can be abated by cathodic protection, though a relatively higher friction coefficient is recorded in this case.