In recent years, the demand has been increased for establishing nondestructive inspection technique for detection of pre-existing plastic strain to ensure integrity of the structure such as nuclear power plant. In this study, potentiostatic etching method is applied to detect and measure plastic strain imposed to austenitic stainless steel by tensile straining. After potentiostatic etching (1N HNO_3, -675 mV_<SCE>, 10min), twin lines and slip lines appear as etched lines on the surface of specimen because of the preferential dissolution of the both bands. The etched slip line density bears a proportionate relationship to true strain and straining temperature. On the relational equation between etched slip density and true strain, slope is a function of straining temperature. Besides, the etched twin density bears a exponent relationship to true strain and straining temperature.