Recrystallization and grain growth of gold bonding wire have been investigated with electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The bonding wires were wire-drawn to an equivalent strain greater than 11.4 with final diameter between 25 and 30 mm. Annealing treatments were carried out in a salt bath at 300 °C, and 400 °C for 1, 10, 60 minutes, and 1 day. The textures of the drawn gold wires contain major ͗111͘, minor ͗100͘, and small fractions of complex fiber components. The ͗100͘ oriented regions are located in the center and surface of the wire, and the complex fiber components are located near the surface. The ͗111͘ oriented regions occur throughout the wire. Maps of the local Taylor factor can be used to distinguish the ͗111͘ and ͗100͘ regions. The ͗111͘ oriented grains have large Taylor factors and might be expected to have higher stored energy as a result of plastic deformation compared to the ͗100͘ regions. Both ͗111͘ and ͗100͘ grains grow during annealing. In particular, ͗100͘ grains in the surface and the center part grow into the ͗111͘ regions at 300 °C and 400°C. Large misorientations (angles Ͼ40 deg) are present between the ͗111͘ and ͗100͘ regions, which means that the boundaries between them are likely to have high mobility. Grain average misorientation (GAM) is greater in the ͗111͘ than in the ͗100͘ regions. It appears that the stored energy, as indicated by geometrically necessary dislocation content in the subgrain structure, is larger in the ͗111͘ than in the ͗100͘ regions.