This article reviews the phenomena involved during the annealing of cold worked austenitic stainless steels. Initially the cold worked state is discussed, with special emphasis on the formation of deformation induced martensites. Following, the phenomena of martensite reversion, recovery, recrystallization and grain growth are discussed. The interactions between primary recrystallization and precipitation and between precipitate dissolution and secondary recrystallization are dealt with in detail. Finally, the textures resulting from hot and cold working, and from primary and secondary recrystallization, are presented.