An equation for the steady‐state rate of creep of pure annealed polycrystalline metals is derived through dislocation theory and the theory of rate processes. The rate of generation of dislocations is shown to be the rate‐determining process. A specific mechanism for the generation of a dislocation is presented, from which the heat and entropy of activation of the process are expressed in terms of physical constants of the material. In addition the lowering under stress of the potential energy barrier, which yields the stress‐dependent term, is given in terms of constants of the material and a ``back‐stress'' term. The creep equation thus obtained is found to be in good agreement with data in the literature.