Short-term tensile data have been generated using a new experimental technique which allows the true total axial strain rate to be maintained constant all the way to fracture. Tensile data at 650°C (1200°F) for irradiated and unirradiated specimens of AISI 304 and 316 stainless steel are presented and compared.A new relationship between low-cycle fatigue and short-term tensile behavior is discussed and applied to data for irradiated and unirradiated material. The effectiveness of this approach is shown to be excellent. This method should allow the low-cycle fatigue behavior for irradiated material to be estimated with acceptable accuracy.Hold times at peak strain have a noticeable effect on fatigue behavior as evidenced in tests at 650°C. These effects are most pronounced when hold periods are employed in only the tension portion of the cycle. An interesting correlation of hold-time data is presented, based on a logarithmic plot of time to fracture vs the length of the hold period. Another important correlation involves a relationship which identifies a method for estimating hold-time effects from a knowledge of the effect of strain rate on low-cycle fatigue behavior.