AZ61 and AM60 magnesium alloys, with higher mechanical strengths than that of the most commonly used AZ31 alloy, were subjected to high-temperature rolling. Although the basal textures of the as-rolled sheets of both alloys were significantly weakened by annealing, the texture weakening was more significant in the latter than in the former. In addition, splitting of the basal pole was not retained after annealing for the AZ61 alloy, but this type of texture was preserved in the case of the AM60 alloy. The formation of statically recrystallized grains with dispersed orientations resulted in the aforementioned change in texture. The difference in the static recrystallization behavior could be attributed to the solute effect of zinc atoms. The annealed AZ61 and AM60 alloy sheets exhibited excellent stretch formability at room temperature, with Erichsen values of 7.8 and 8.5 mm, respectively, comparable to those of aluminum alloys. The higher Erichsen value for the AM60 alloy compared to that of the AZ61 alloy resulted from the more weakened basal texture and the splitting of the basal pole with an inclination angle of +/- 20 degrees in the rolling direction, which are favorable for basal slip during sheet forming. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.