Coatings of the MCrAlY type (M=Ni, Co) are commonly used as overlay coatings and as bond coats (BC's) for ceramic thermal barrier coatings (TBC's) in industrial gas turbines. During high temperature service the MCrAlY coatings form aluminium based surface oxide scales. The technologically most relevant properties of the oxide scales, growth rate and adherence do not only depend on the exact MCrAlY composition but also on the surface condition after coating manufacturing. Depending on the coating manufacturing process, the MCrAlY surfaces may substantially differ in roughness. In addition the coatings may be subjected to surface treatments (e.g. shot peening, grinding or smoothening prior to deposition of TBC). In the present work the effect of the surface roughness commonly prevailing in the case of vacuum plasma sprayed MCrAlY coatings on the morphology and composition of the alumina scales formed during high-temperature oxidation was studied. For this purpose free standing coatings with rough and polished surfaces were oxidised in the temperature range from 800 to 1100 °C with exposure times up to 1000 h. The surface scale composition and morphology were analysed by optical metallography and SEM. Fluorescence spectroscopy was used for stress measurements in the oxide scales. It has been found that the oxide scales formed on rough surfaces of MCrAlY coatings have an intrinsically different morphology and growth rate compared to those formed on the flat ground surfaces.