The initial stage of fiber structure development in the continuous neck-drawing of amorphous poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibers was analyzed by in situ wide-angle X-ray diffraction, small-angle X-ray scattering, and fiber temperature measurements. The time error of the measurements (<600 mu s) was obtained by synchrotron X-ray source and laser irradiation heating. A highly ordered fibrillar-shaped two-dimensional (smectic-like) structure was found to be formed less than 1 ms after necking. By analyzing its (001') and (002') diffractions, the length of the structure 60-70 nm were obtained. A three-dimensionally ordered triclinic crystal began to form with the vanishing of the structure around 1 ms after necking. The amount and size of the crystal were almost saturated within several milliseconds of necking, during which time a mainly exothermic heat of crystallization was also observed. (C) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.