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The drop evaporation test (DET) is useful for study of stainless steels andrelated alloys resistance to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in the chloride containingwater environments at elevated temperature. This standardised test simulates the initiationof cracking under severe evaporating conditions with possibility of local chloride contentincreasing and precipitation (deposition) of salts and the test can be also modified. In thecontribution the austenitic stainless steels (X9CrNi 19-9, X1CrNiCr 18-14-4, X2CrNiMoN20-18-6, annealed) were compared and evaluated by the DET. The small specimens wereresistively heated (.250‹C) in the exposed section under dropping of diluted NaCl watersolution. The initiation and short cracks growth as well as pits were observed during test.The sequence of material resistance to SCC was determined according to relations time tofracture - tensile stress and conventional threshold stresses. The subcritical transcrystallinecorrosion cracks and ductile shearing transcrystalline mechanism of unstable final fracturewere confirmed by a light and scanning electron microscopy.