A theoretical model is proposed for the description of flooded porous metal electrodes which undergo anodic dissolution by electrochemical reaction. Equations are developed to represent the pseudosteady state which prevails during dissolution after the concentration gradients have become fully established within the pores. The analysis leads to an understanding of how mass transfer, kinetic and geometric parameters of the system determine the electrode overpotential and its change during dissolution. The most uniform current distributions are predicted to occur not at vanishingly small currents but at finite anodic currents because of mass transfer limitations to the cathodic back reaction. Thus, for a range of anodic currents, an increase of applied current will result in a more uniform distribution of the electrochemical reaction throughout the porous electrode. Calculations illustrating the behavior are presented for the acid‐copper system.