This article describes the results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray induced Auger spectroscopy (X-AES) studies on the surface films formed by benzotriazole (BTA) on zinc and copper-zinc alloys. While the XPS technique proved to be handicapped in identifying the metallic from mono-valent copper, X-AES could successfully distinguish between these species. The surface films on Cu-Zn alloys proved to be mainly Cu(I)-BTA but a smaller amount of Zn-BTA complex also could be identified.