Samples of 316LVM austenitic stainless steel were hydrostatically extruded (HE), in a multi‐step process with the total true strain of 1.84 to produce a microstructure consisting of nanotwins separated by shear bands. The twins average width is 19 nm and length 168 nm. Earlier results proved that a post‐deformation annealing at 700°C for 1 hour results in the formation of a recrystallized structure with nanograins of 93 nm in diameter. In the present study samples were heated to 700°C by an alternating current, AC, using Gleeble 3800 thermo‐mechanical simulator. Changes in the nanostructure were investigated using transmission and scanning electron microscopes. Microhardness was also measured under the load of 200g. The results are discussed in terms of the possibility to use AC heating for post deformation treatment of nano‐sized metals obtained by methods of severe plastic deformation, SPD. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)