Despite the importance of low-density steels, the evolution of crystallographic texture in Al-Si-added high-Mn steels has received little attention, particularly the role of initial texture before thermo-mechanical processing in steels containing two phases. The present study aims to bridge this gap by investigating the evolution of microstructure and texture in low-density high-Mn steels during homogenization. Two steels, S1-H (12Al-2Si) and S2-H (9Al-0.2Si), were fabricated using the melting-casting method, followed by a homogenization treatment to minimize chemical inhomogeneity. Microstructural characterization using a scanning electron microscope with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) revealed the presence of \(\alpha\) -ferrite and \(\gamma\) -austenite. In the ferrite phase, S1-H predominantly exhibits the presence of {113} < 361 > , while the S2-H sample exhibits the \({\text{Cube}}_{\text{RD}}\) texture ({013} < 100 > ) and Cube texture ({001} < 100 > ). Similarly, the Rotated cube texture {001} < 110 > and P texture ({011} < 122 > ) were more prominent in the austenite phase of the S1-H, and only the P texture is prominent in the austenite phase of the S2-H sample. The development of {113} < 361 > in S1-H is attributed to annealing of weak rotated cube textures, whereas the Cube texture in S2-H developed through secondary recrystallization driven by surface energy effects during homogenization. The \({\text{Cube}}_{\text{RD}}\) in S2-H is attributed to the deviation of ~ 10-20° in \(\varphi\) from the ideal Cube orientation. Rotated cube texture is likely retained from the austenite phase of the as-cast S1-H sample, while P-texture in both samples is attributed to the local strains caused by fine k-carbides precipitates, promoting the recrystallization through particle stimulated nucleation (PSN) mechanism. Hardness tests revealed that the variation in hardness between S1-H and S2-H arises from differences in texture evolution and recrystallization behaviour.
