The present study concerns nucleation and growth of small surface cracks during the low‐cycle fatigue of a nitrogen‐containing austenitic stainless steel. Metallographic replicas as well as longitudinal sectioning were used to record the developing crack pattern on the specimen surface. The influence of grain size and nitrogen content is considered. Small surface cracks are observed after about 10% of the fatigue life. The nucleation of cracks continues until about half of the lifetime, when the crack density saturates. This saturation phenomenon is related to the local unloading effect of growing cracks. The mean crack length increases continuously as a power‐law until specimen failure. However, small grains and a low nitrogen content amplify the effect of crack–grain boundary interactions resulting in an intermediate retardation in growth. At high nitrogen contents, the crack growth characteristics are very much related to the slip bands formed. This results in a more simultaneous growth of cracks, a more jagged feature of the cracks introducing a higher roughness‐induced crack closure effect, and, consequently, better fatigue properties.