Thermal decomposition of zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP) is examined in presence of a noble catalyst iron fluoride (FeF 3 ), using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The influence of heating rate, isothermal holding period and catalyst concentration was verified. The role of FeF 3 on ZDDP decomposition mechanism was analyzed using 31 P-NMR. This study also focused on the effect of FeF 3 on ZDDP decomposition in combination with detergents (Ca-sulfonate, Mg-sulfonate and Cophenates). The decomposition temperature of ZDDP is reduced significantly in presence of FeF 3 . Thanks to FeF 3 , the ZDDP decomposition temperature is lower even in the presence of the detergents, while the detergents greatly retard the ZDDP decomposition. The 31 P-NMR studies confirmed a faster decomposition and a different decomposition mechanism of ZDDP in presence of FeF 3 .