An austenitic stainless steel which in wrought or cast, and annealed, condition exhibits excellent galling resistance, excellent stress corrosion resistance in chloride-containing environments, good resistance against intergranular corrosion, good high temperature oxidation resistance, and a high work hardening rate. The broad composition range is, in weight percent, about 13% to about 19% chromium, about 13% to about 19% nickel, 0.5% to about 4% manganese, 3.5% to about 7% silicon, up to about 0.15% carbon, less than 0.04% nitrogen, about 0.05% maximum phosphorus, about 0.05% maximum sulfur, and balance essentially iron except for incidental impurities. The steel can be readily worked with conventional equipment and has particular utility for applications in which moving metal-to-metal contact, corrosive attack and/or elevated temperature are encountered in combination. The steel can also be cast into articles of ultimate use, or utilized in power metallurgy techniques.