Abstract: A ball on disc machine was employed to study the effect of oxidized steel surface on the lubricating performance of sulfurized olefin.Mechanisms of the effect were discussed based on the analysing results obtained with several surface analysing instruments.It is found that better anti-scuffing and antiwear properties could be obtained for the combination of sulfurized olefin and oxidized steel surface.The main reason for the phenomenon can be attributed to the effect of the pretreated oxide film itself and its effect on promoting the formation of chemical reaction film FeS,which results in the formation of a more continuous in structure and thicker boundary lubricating film consisted of FeS and iron oxide on the wear surfaces of oxidized steel.