The century-old problem of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in metals a
nd alloys has been reviewed highlighting the metallurgical factors lik
e grain boundary precipitation and grain boundary segregation contribu
ting to the process, the electrochemical aspects of the phenomenon and
the current knowledge of the mechanisms which can be broadly classifi
ed as dissolution-based and cleavage-based models. The introduction co
vers some field examples of SCC. SCC test methods and preventive measu
res for SCC have also been discussed.