Bacterial adhesion to stainless steel SS316L), which is an alloy typically used in many medical devices and food processing equipment, can cause serious infections along with substantial healthcare costs. This work demonstrates that SS316L surfaces produced by electrochemical etching effectively inhibit bacterial adhesion of both Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus, but exhibit SS316L results in formation of superior passive layer at the surface, improving corrosion resistance. The SS316L offers significant potential for medical applications based on the surface structure-induced reduction of bacterial adhesion without use of antibiotic or chemical modifications while providing cytocompatibility and corrosion resistance in physiological conditions.