Electrochemical and metallurgical investigations have been made to clarify the effect of intermetallic compound, FeAl₃ on the aluminum pitting corrosion. The dissolution of iron in the intermetallic compounds and subsequent deposition of the ferrous ions to metallic iron have been observed in pitting environments (deaerated 0.01m-1.0m AlCl₃ solution). The autocatalytic nature of the pitting is attributed to formation of galvanic couples between aluminum matrix and the deposited iron in the environments.