A novel additive sodium diisopropylnaphthalene sulfonate (SDIPNS) was investigated in Zn-Mn electrodeposition on steel from chloride bath. To this end, cyclic voltammetry was performed in absence and presence of SDIPNS to study different electrochemical systems. Electrochemical data showed that SDIPNS increases Zn deposition overpotential, resulting from strong adsorption of SDIPNS molecules on the cathode surface. The effects of scan rate, switching potentials on the electrochemical behavior of Zn-Mn co-deposition were investigated. The variation of scan rate reveals that the Zn-Mn co-deposition is associated with charge transfer coupled with the mass transfer. SDIPNS concentration was investigated with regard to the Mn content in the final coatings. The chemical composition result showed that Mn-rich deposits, containing 20 wt.% of Mn, are successfully deposited under low cathodic potential (E = − 1.52 V vs. Ag/AgCl). The surface characterization of Zn-Mn coatings was explored by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The presence of SDIPNS in the electrolytic bath permits to obtain compact, well adherent, and fined grain Mn-rich alloys.