The evolution of the microstructure and texture with strain during compression at 150℃of the magnesium alloy AZ31 has been investigated using the electron backscattered diffraction(EBSD)technique.The initial samples were chosen to have a strong basal plane texture with the crystal c-axes perpendicular to the compression direction.The EBSD data provide evidence concerning the relative activity of both{10-12}extension twinning and slip,and suggest that non-basal<c+a> slip is important in samples deformed to a strain of more than 0.2.The relative contributions of the twinning and the slip during deformation have been discussed based on the results above.