To determine the flow behavior of SUS304 stainless steel under different conditions, axisymmetric compression tests were conducted over a wide range of forming temperatures (25 °C to 400 °C) and strain rates (10−3 to 10 s−1). Flow curves were obtained for different forming conditions to study the influence of the forming temperature and strain rate on the flow behavior. Moreover, electron backscatter diffraction analysis, X-ray diffraction analysis, transmission electron microscopy, and Feritscope were used to study the microstructure evolution of SUS304 stainless steel under different conditions for determining the underlying reasons for the variations in flow behavior. The experimental results indicated that the flow stress decreased with increasing the forming temperature. With increasing strain rate at 25 °C to 200 °C, the flow stress first increased and then decreased; however, the strain rate had little effect on the flow stress at 300 °C and 400 °C. By analyzing the variation in the phase transformation inside compressed SUS304 stainless steel samples under different forming conditions, the key factors affecting the flow behavior of stainless steel were identified. Finally, by examining the variation in the martensite content and the dislocation density, the dominant deformation mechanism under different forming conditions was determined.
