In this work the effect of alternating current (AC) on corrosion behavior of pipeline steel in the presence of sacrificial anode or groundings were investigated in a simulated soil solution by weight loss test electrochemical measurements and morphology analyses. It was found that the imposed AC would shift both potential of pipeline steel and sacrificial anode (or groundings) towards the positive direction. Due to the difference in polarization characteristic the offset will be different from each other resulting in the enhancement of DC current between pipeline and sacrificial anode (or groundings). As a consequence the corrosion of pipeline will be accelerated or controlled which is closing related to the electrochemical characteristic of sacrificial anode (or groundings). Based on the experiment results a new AC corrosion mechanism considering the effect of AC on the interactions between pipeline steel and appurtenance i.e. sacrificial anode and grounding was discussed.