The present work deals with plastic deformation of 316L austenitic stainless steel (ASS) using room temperature rolling process. After solution treatment (annealing) as-received 316L ASS has been rolled for up to 90% of thickness reduction. To investigate the effect of processing on mechanical properties microstructural study, tensile and hardness tests have been conducted. The ultimate tensile strength has been improved from 767 MPa (before deformation) to 1420 MPa (after 90% deformation), and hardness value has been increased from 208 VHN (before deformation) to 449 VHN (after 90% reduction). Magnetic measurements and XRD characterization have been performed to confirm the formation of martensitic phase. Finite element analysis have also been simulated employing DEFORM-3D software to get the insight about deformation behavior. © 2019 Trans Tech Publications Ltd, Switzerland.