AbstractThe fatigue crack growth behaviour, the length of the arrested cracks and the shape of the crack front were investigated for cyclic compression. Specimens with deep sharp notches were used. The experiments were performed for different load amplitudes and load ratios under conditions of small scale yielding. The material used was ARMCO‐iron. The growth rate and length of the arrested cracks were estimated and compared with the experimental results. The crack growth rate of very short cracks is determined by the stress intensity and is independent of the stress ratio. The length of the arrested cracks depends on the stress ratio and is bounded by the size of the cyclic and the monotonic plastic zone