Five kinds of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Zr based alloys with different Sc additions were prepared by ingot metallurgy. The effects of minor Sc on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Zr based alloys were investigated using tensile tests, optical microscopy (OM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that the ultimate tensile strength and yield strength are improved by 94 and 110 MPa, respectively, and the elongation to failure remains at a reasonable extent (11.1%) in the Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Zr based alloy with 0.21 wt.%...