One of the reasons for brittleness of Fe-Al-Mn-C alloys developed at ArcelorMittal is the content of carbon in ferrite. The carbon in solid solution is detrimental to ductility because the C atoms are assumed to reduce the mobility of the edge dislocations. This dislocation pinning produces a twinning mechanism and leads to fracture. In order to reduce the brittleness of these materials which is due to the reduction of the carbon in solid solution in the ferrite, experimental measurements of the low carbon level (below 0.05 wt%) was done using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). To this end, the carbon distribution has been investigated on a Fe-Al-Mn-C grade after different thermal treatments (water quench and slow cooling rate). This paper shows that the SIMS nano-analysis is a well-suited tool to analyse the carbon in solid solution in the ferrite. On the basis of these analyses, it is possible to define thermal treatment conditions necessary to improve the ductility of the material. Crown Copyright (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.