The aim of the present study is the investigation of the influence of the sulfur content within the range of 0.02-0.1 wt% and the combined decrease of the particle size on the mechanical properties of a highly alloyed TWIP-steel (TWinning Induced Plasticity; 16% Cr, 7% Mn, 9% Ni). Samples were processed by spark plasma sintering (SPS) and tested by quasi-static compressive deformation (10 À3 s
À1). An increase of the surface-active sulfur in TWIP-steel is decreasing the surface tension (s) of the liquid steel phase at a constant spraying parameter. The surface tension as a thermo-physical property has a major impact on the particle size distribution of a metal powder in atomization. With a decrease in s, the mass median particle size (d 50 ) in steel powder is shifted to finer particles. Through the increased sulfur content, the compressive yield strength increases slightly about 40 MPa. A sulfur content of 0.05 wt% within the steel turned out to be optimal for the compressive properties by causing a high strength and work hardening through a fine grained microstructure, while the sulfur precipitations showed no pronounced negative influence. The mechanical properties were not negatively affected due to the increase of the sulfur content within the samples.