Hydraulic bulging can be used to characterise sheet material under biaxial stress conditions. A new measuring method applying laser light section for geometry analysis and a camera device for local strain determination enables a continuous on‐line calculation of flow curves. Effective stress and equivalent strain can be recorded until the failure of the material, thus providing extended information compared to the tensile test. The testing procedure is predestined for simulation purposes and for an application in the quality control sector, allowing for a quick and profound material characterisation.This work presents flow curves, strain hardening curves, and strain paths of several steel grades and one aluminium alloy. Some selected materials were also investigated with regard to different yield criteria and results from the tensile test.