Objective To study the synthesis, structure characterization and inhibition performance of N,N‘-bis(di-phenylphos-phino)-1-phenylethylamine (NPM) on carbon steel in hydrochloric acid solution. Methods The structure of synthesized NPM was characterized by means of infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis and melting point test. And the inhibitive efficiency of NPM on carbon steel in hydrochloric acid solution was investigated using the static weight loss method, potentiodynamic polarization curve and electrochemical impedance. The influences of the corrosion system temperature, NPM concentration, hydrochloric acid concentration and standing time of the corrosion system on the corrosion inhibition efficiency of NPM on carbon steel were studied, and the adsorption mechanism of NPM on carbon steel surface was also discussed. Results The potentiodynamic polarization curves indicated that NMP acted as a mixed-type inhibitor. The results for influencing factors of the inhibitive efficiency of NPM showed that the inhibitive efficiency of NPM increased with increasing NPM concentration, and the inhibition efficiency reached up to 94. 71% at 140 mg / L NPM in 1. 0 mol / L hydrochloric acid solution at 25 ℃ . It decreased gradually with the increase of the corrosion system temperature and the hydrochloric acid concentration, while increased with increasing standing time of the corrosion system. The adsorption process of NPM on carbon steel surface obeyed Langmuir isotherm and belonged to spontaneous physical and chemical adsorption. Conclusion The synthesized organic compound NPM was a highly efficient mixed-type corrosion inhibitor.