Embrittlement in austenitic stainless steels may occur as a result of exposure to temperature between 600?C and 900?C. The primary purpose of this investigation was to study the various causes of embrittlement in 304 and 316 Type stainless steels. The potential causes of embrittlement are: (1) Grain boundary carbide precipitation (2) Grain boundary phosphorus segregation (3) Grain boundary martensite formation (4) Sigma phase fonnation