The electrolyte uptake kinetics in hybrid sol–gel films was monitored with an electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) oscillator sensor, focused on the effect of particles addition in the film. Undoped and zinc oxide doped sol-gel coatings were immersed in a 0.1M NaCl solution to reproduce seafood environment with the object of study their performances as anti-corrosion coatings for the food packing industry. The electrolyte uptake process was investigated by immersion of doped and undoped sol-gel films in NaCl solution for 24hours. The acoustic load impedance, the shear modulus and the acoustic factor of the films were also calculated before and after immersion in order to determine the gravimetric regime of the sensor. Also, the phase noise performance of the oscillator in the solution was investigated to characterize the oscillator's resolution during the electrolyte uptake process.