Austenitic stainless steel is one of the key structural materials for a wide-range of components for present nuclear power plants. Moreover, this type of steel is also foreseen as a key structural material in future reactor systems, the so-called Generation IV. However, for the successful application of these materials in new environmental conditions an integrated Research and Development program needs to be successfully completed. This work is focused to the evaluation of cold-worked AISI-304 stainless steel from 20 to 45% of cold-worked deformation by different spectroscopic techniques within the aim to study the microstructural characteristics. In particular, positron annihilation spectroscopy and small angle neutron scattering have been used for characterization of phase transformation and microstructural behavior. Furthermore, outcomes of corrosion properties of cold-worked AISI-304 stainless steel exposed for 100 and 500 h in super-critical water reactor conditions are correlated with the obtained results. (C) 2008 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.