The current work investigated the impact of surface condition on the metal dusting behavior of chromia forming alloys. Five commercial alloys were included in the study, wrought 800H, 353MA, and cast G4859, G4852 Micro, and ET45 Micro, these alloys have a chromium and nickel content in the range of 20-35 wt% and 32-45 wt%, respectively. The wrought alloys were tested in a pickled state and the cast alloys with a machined surface, all the alloys were tested using a laboratory ground surface condition for comparison. The exposures were performed using a gas with a composition of 44 vol% CO, 52 vol% H2, 2 vol% CO2, and 2 vol% H2O at a temperature of 600 °C and a pressure of 5.5 bar. The samples were periodically characterized by measuring the mass loss, pit density, pit size, and pit depth. The results show that the pickled surfaces were sensitive toward metal dusting attack while the machined and the ground surfaces had better resistance. This shows that the surface pre-treatment plays a crucial role. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.