Abstract. High pressure torsion (HPT) is a severe plastic deformation technique in which a small, disk-like sample is subjected to a torsional deformation under a high hydrostatic pressure. In present study, the static and dynamic tensile behaviour of commercially pure aluminium (99.6 wt%) processed by HPT is studied. The high strain rate tensile behaviour is characterized using a purpose-developed miniature split Hopkinson tensile bar setup by which strain rates up to 5 × 10 3 s −1 can be reached. During the tests, the deformation of a speckle pattern applied to the samples is recorded, by which local information on the strain is obtained using a digital image correlation technique. Electron back scatter diffraction images are used to investigate the microstructural evolution, more specifically the grain refinement obtained by HPT. The fracture surfaces of the tensile samples are studied by scanning electron microscopy. Results show that the imposed severe plastic deformation significantly increases the tensile strength, however, at the expense of ductility. The strain rate only has a minor influence on the materials tensile behaviour.