The paper deals with the corrosion fatigue behaviour of a particulate reinforced metal matrix composite with aluminium alloy AA 6061 T6 matrix and 10% by volume of alumina particles. The material was in two different working conditions. Fatigue K-increasing and K-decreasing crack growth rate tests were carried out in air and a 3.5% NaCl aqueous solution. The condition of pitting corrosion initiation in chloride
environments was studied by means of potentiodynamic polarization tests carried out in aerated and deaerated 3.5% NaCl solutions. Furthermore immersion tests were performed in aerated solutions. The aggressive environment significantly increased the fatigue crack growth rate for a given delta K, with respect to tests in air. The sensitivity of the fatigue behaviour to the chloride solution was different in the two materials, whereas the corrosion behaviour was similar. Thereafter an interaction between pitting corrosion, occurring preferentially at the particle-matrix interface, and the mechanisms of crack propagation in the composite material was argued. Keywords: metal matrix composite, MMC, corrosion-fatigue, crack growth rate, aluminium alloys, alumina.