The study was conducted on the effect of bath composition on the surface appearance, the hardness and the crystal orientation of zinc electrodeposits from the chloride bath. (1) The hardness of the zinc electrodeposits from the chloride bath was increased by suppressing mass transfer of zinc through adding the organic additives and the chlorine ion in the electrolyte. (2) The surface whiteness of zinc deposits was decreased due to the change of the preferred orientation from (002) , (103) to (101) , (100) through increasing the organic additives and chlorine ion in the electrolyte. (3) The addition of Cu, Sn, Ni or Co in the chloride bath elevated the hardness of the zinc deposits but darkened the surface whiteness. (4) The optimum condition of the organic additives and the chlorine ion for increasing the hardness of zinc deposits and preventing dark surface ranges 0.3 m1/1 to 0.4 m1/1 and 6.5 mol/1 to 6.8mol/l respectively.