A single tensile overload (OL) applied during a constant amplitude fatigue test could have a positive or negative influence on improving the subsequent fatigue-crack growth rate (da/dN). The resulting variation in da/dN was very relevant to both the OL level and the fatigue loading conditions. Comprehensive tests on 2024-T4 Al-alloy specimens were carried out to rationalize the variation trend of da/dN after a single tensile OL. It was found that the trend of the fatigue-crack growth after the OL is not unique, but strongly depends on the OL stress-intensity factor KOL and the applied stress-intensity factor Kapp just before OL. Three potential trends of variation in da/dN, related to both the KOL and the KOL/Kapp ratio, were proposed in this study: initial deceleration and then recovery (Type I); initial slight-acceleration, subsequent retardation and final recovery (Type II); and initial major-acceleration, subsequent retardation and final recovery (Type III). Among the three types, the type II with the medium KOL/Kapp ratio and the low Kapp is the optimal OL type for improving the fatigue life of a 2024-T4 Al-alloy specimen. Keywords: overload, fatigue crack growth trend, fatigue retardation, overload-induced fracture zone Med testom utrujanja s konstantno amplitudo so uporabili posamezen natezni preizkus s preobremenitvijo (OL; angl.: single tensile overload) ter ugotovili, da ima lahko le-ta pozitiven ali negativen vpliv na nadaljnjo hitrost rasti razpoke (da/dN). Nastala razlika v da/dN je bila tesno povezana tako z nivojem OL kot tudi s pogoji utrujanja. Avtorji~lanka so izvedli ob{irne preizkuse na vzorcih Al zlitine 2024-T4, da bi razumeli trend variiranja da/dN po OL. Ugotovili so, da trend hitrosti rasti razpoke po OL ni enoten, temve~je mo~no odvisen od razmerja OL-faktor intenzitete napetosti KOL in uporabljenega nivoja napetostnega faktorja intenzitete Kapp tik pred OL. V tej {tudiji so avtorji predlagali tri mo`ne trende variiranja da/dN glede na KOL in razmerje KOL/Kapp: za~etno zmanj{evanje hitrost (zaviranje) in nato popravo (Type I); za~etno rahlo pospe{evanje, odla{anje in nato popravo (Type II) in za~etno izrazito pospe{evanje, kateremu je sledilo odla{anje in kon~na poprava (Type III). Med vsemi tremi je tip II s srednjim KOL/Kapp razmerjem in nizkim Kapp optimalen OL tip za izbolj{anje dobe trajanja vzorcev iz Al zlitine 2024-T4. Klju~ne besede: preobremenitev, trend rasti utrujenostne razpoke, odla{anje utrujanja, s preobremenitvijo inducirana cona loma