The stacking fault energy (SFE) of Fe-18 pct Mn-0.6 pct C-1.5 pct Al twinning-induced plasticity (TWIP) steel was measured using weak-beam dark-field imaging of dissociated dislocations observed in transmission electron microscopy. The SFE was found to be 30 mJ/m 2 . A relatively wide scatter was observed in the experimentally measured partial dislocation separation of screw dislocations. It is argued that the anomalously wide partial dislocation separation is due to the interaction of point-defect pairs involving interstitial C atoms with the strain field of the partial dislocations. Internal friction (IF) experiments were carried out to detect the presence of point-defect pairs that might affect the dislocation separation, and a clear Finkelshtein-Rosin (FR) peak related to point-defect pairs involving interstitial C atoms was observed in the IF spectrum.High Mn austenitic twinning-induced plasticity (TWIP) steel is one of the most promising newly developed automotive steels owing to a superior combination of strength and ductility. The stacking fault energy (SFE) is an important material property. Its value must be within a narrow range for deformationinduced twinning to occur. The SFE is determined by composition and temperature. Remy and Pineau [1] were the first to report that the two deformation modes observed in low SFE Fe-Mn fcc alloys, the occurrence of a strain-induced c fi e martensitic transformation and deformation twinning, were controlled by the composition dependence of the SFE. The critical stacking fault energy range to achieve twinning-induced plasticity is still unclear, and no experimental SFE determination is currently available for the two TWIP steel compositions that are considered to have the most industrial potential: Fe-22 pct Mn-0.6 pct C and Fe-18 pct Mn-0.6 pct C-1.5 pct Al. Frommeyer et al. [2] indicated that whereas an SFE larger than about 25 mJ/m 2 will result in the twinning effect in a stable c phase, an SFE smaller than about 16 mJ/m 2 results in e phase formation. Allain et al. [3] mentioned a much narrower range. According to them, the SFE should be at least 19 mJ/m 2 to obtain mechanical twinning. They also mentioned that an SFE less than 10 mJ/m 2 results in strain-induced e-phase formation. Dumay et al. [4] indicate that below an SFE of 18 mJ/m 2 , twinning tends to disappear and is replaced by the formation of e-platelets. They conclude that an SFE of about 20 mJ/m 2 is needed for the best hardening rate. Finally, Jin and Lee [5] indicated that an SFE value of 33 mJ/m 2 is required to obtain twinning in Fe-18 pct Mn-0.6 pct C-1.5 pct Al. In the present contribution, the authors report the first systematic measurements of the SFE of Fe-18 pct Mn-0.6 pct C-1.5 pct Al TWIP steel. In addition, it was found that for screw dislocations, the partial dislocation separation was abnormally wide. This is believed to be caused by the same point-defect complexes that cause dynamic strain aging (DSA) in TWIP steel alloyed with carbon to stabilize the austenitic structure.In the past,...