Hydrogen embrittlement (HE) of several low-nickel austenitic stainless steels (AISI 300 series) was studied with special attention to the impact of strain induced alpha'-martensite. The susceptibility of the steels to HE is judged with respect to the relative reduction of area (RRA): The HE susceptibility is lower for larger RRA-values. Strain-induced martensite formation was evaluated within in the framework of the Olson-Cohen model, revealing a linear relationship between RRA and the probability beta of martensite nucleus formation in the steels. In order to widen the scope of data evaluation to literature data, the consideration of a parameter alternative top is required. It is demonstrated that among other parameters the M(d30 )temperature (Nohara), which assesses the stability against martensitic transformation, can serve as an indicator to predict HE of AISI 300 series steels. Regarding the M-d30 temperature (Nohara), a trend-line with respect to the RRA-values is found. Thereby, the RRA-values of low-nickel austenitic stainless steels group into three distinct regimes; (1) for M-d30 > -80 degrees C, where RRA-values decrease with increasing M-d30 temperature, (2) at M-d30 approximate to -80 degrees C, where RRA-values show a large variation ('threshold band'), and (3) for M-d30 < -80 degrees C, showing constant RRA-values of nearly 100%. Some RRA data points that deviate from the trend line can be explained by the special microstructure of the investigated samples. (C) 2019 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.