Corrosion inhibition performance of synthesized amino acid compounds, namely, (Z)-2-(2-oxoindolin-3-ylideneamino)acetic acid (OYAA) and 2-(2-oxoindolin-3-ylideneamino)-3-phenylpropanoic acid (OYPA) on mild steel in 15-% HCl solution was investigated by means of potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. Potentiodynamic polarization studies showed that both studied inhibitors were mixed types in nature. The adsorption of inhibitors on the mild steel surface obeyed Langmuir's adsorption isotherm. The potential of zero charge (E PZC ) for the mild steel was determined via EIS to discuss the adsorption mechanism. Scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy were used to characterize the surface morphology of uninhibited and inhibited mild steel specimens. The density functional theory was employed for theoretical calculations.