The mechanical properties of thick rolled plate for main pipelines with a ferrite-bainite microstructure in different directions over the plate plane are determined, mechanical property anisotropy is revealed, and its features are studied. It is established that the structure of bainite, consisting of ferrite platelets with fine carbide interlayers along boundaries, orientated in a specific way in the plate plane with respect to the rolling direction, provokes propagation of a brittle crack and reduces metal cold resistance considerably in directions close to the preferred orientation of microstructural components.