Abstract Cyclic thermomechanical treatment combined with caliber rolling was applied in order to obtain very fine grain structure with high fraction of special grain boundaries in austenitic stainless steel. Partial recrystallization was observed. Recrystallized fraction was assessed from misorientation data measured by electron back scattering diffraction. Due to the partial recrystallization, elastic energy was stored in the deformed parts, and helped grain boundary movement. As a consequence, very fine grained material with high fraction of special boundaries was formed.