A stress-based ductile forming limit theory applicable to nonlinear strain paths is investigated with a 11 % Cr steel which displays a highly anisotropic behavior in plastic deformation. The forming limit stress is evaluated by a theoretical method based on the M-K theory, and is also measured directly in some cases with nonlinear loading paths. The evaluated and measured stresses are compared with an experimentally-obtained forming limit stress diagram, where the stresses are converted from strains by Stoughton's method. The theoretically-evaluated limit stress corresponds not to the measured stress at the onset of fracture but to the stress at the onset of localized necking. The evaluated forming limit stress and experimentallyobtained localized necking stress demonstrate no dependency on strains paths, thus verifying the applicability of the theory to this particular material. The experimentally-obtained forming limit stress diagram was corrected using the above results, which has improved the discrepancies between the experimentally-and numerically-obtained forming limit stress.KEY WORDS: 11 % Cr steel; sheet forming; stress-based forming limit; nonlinear loading path. ISIJ International, Vol. 47 (2007), No. 3, pp. 493-501 493 © 2007 ISIJ et al. 14,15) verified this theory experimentally by actually measuring stresses in aluminum tube hydroforming. However, cases where stresses in the material can be measured directly during forming are rare.Considering the various problems outlined above, the author and a co-worker focused on an investigation of the applicability of the FLSD theory to a particular material, 11 % Cr steel. In a previous paper, 16) the ductile forming limit was measured in some nonlinear loading paths and was then converted to an FLSD. In this paper, the forming limit stress is evaluated by a numerical method using the M-K theory.17) The forming limit stress is also measured directly in experiments with some nonlinear loading paths. These stresses are compared with the above converted FLSD, and their relationships are discussed. The physical aspect of the FLSD theory is discussed on the basis of this investigation.Here, it must be stressed again that the stresses used to draw the experimental FLSD are values which have been converted from strains. The theoretically-evaluated FLSD is based on plastic theory as well. This means that the accuracy of the stresses depends on the accuracy of the plastic deformation theory, which requires modeling of a workhardening rule, a yield criterion, and anisotropic parameters such as the r-value of the material concerned. The problem is the same in theoretical evaluation of the forming limit stress because the plastic deformation theory is also used in the calculations. This is particularly important for the material investigated here because it demonstrates highly anisotropic behavior. The authors verified these models for this material in detail in a previous paper, 16) so it is now possible to corroborate the relationship between the converted and me...