The present research work focuses on understanding the deformation behavior of cryorolled A356 material at various strain rates ranging from 0.001 s−1 to 10 s−1 in the temperature range of 25–400 °C. Microstructure of the material at each deformation temperature was characterized to completely analyze the material's behavior. Presence of ultrafine grained microstructure with highly unstable dislocation networks were found to play a major role in strengthening the material up to the deformation temperature of 200 °C. Recrystallization and thermal softening decreases the material's strength at deformation temperatures beyond 200 °C. With respect to the rate of deformation, a prominent change in the deformation mechanism is observed at strain rates higher than 1 s−1. The failure mechanism at various strain rate and temperature ranges is studied in detail. Finally a constitutive Johnson-Cook model is developed to predict the material's flow behavior for the range of strain-rates and temperatures under study. © 2017 Elsevier B.V.