<p>Zinc and BN nanoparticle composite coatings on a mild steel substrate have been fabricated by electrodeposition from a zinc chloride-based electroplating solution containing three different types of surfactants involving the cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate, and the nonionic surfactant peregalO. The three surfactants increase the dispersibility of BN nanoparticles in the solution, and meantime their introduction also changes the electrodeposition behavior of zinc. A significant inhibitory behavior of three surfactants on the electrodeposition of zinc was revealed through cyclic voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry, where the CTAB exhibits the greatest inhibitory ability. The introduction of these surfactants also leads to the refinement of the microstructure of the zinc coating and promotes the preferential growth along high-index crystal planes of zinc crystals. The polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy also further revealed that the introduction of surfactants leads to an evident increase in the corrosion resistance of Zn/BN composite coatings, and the composite coating obtained from the plating solution containing CTAB exhibits the best corrosion resistance characteristics. These results suggest that the CTAB is an effective surfactant for the preparation of Zn-BN composite coatings.</p>