<p>The sequence of oxidation behavior of aluminum near its melting temperature has been reviewed. A surface relaxation model has been developed based on the modified Skapski equation to link the intrinsic and fully oxidized surface tension of liquid aluminum. The reduction in surface tension with increased surface activity of oxygen has also been revisited. Results show that neither the Szyszkowski equation nor the semi-empirical model developed recently is adequate to model the effect of oxygen on surface tension based on the data by Goumiri and Joud. A new semi-empirical model based on surface relaxation has been developed which provides a much better fit to the data. Moreover, analysis of data from studies with deoxidation treatments and very low oxygen partial pressures indicates that the initial drop in surface tension after exposure to oxygen is due to the formation of a film of amorphous alumina on the surface. Further reduction is hypothesized to be due to epitaxial growth of <i>γ</i>-alumina on the amorphous alumina/liquid aluminum interface.</p>