<p>Sliver defects represent a critical surface quality issue in cold-rolled steel production, leading to significant material waste and increased production costs. This comprehensive study focuses on the characterization and root cause analysis of sliver defects observed on DD14 low-carbon steel coils at a cold rolling mill following the skin-pass process. While conventional metallographic analysis provides macroscopic and microscopic insights, it often lacks the precision to identify the exact chemical nature and origin of the embedded foreign materials. To overcome this limitation, advanced analytical techniques, specifically scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), were extensively employed. The detailed chemical analysis consistently revealed the presence of complex non-metallic inclusions containing aluminum (Al), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), fluorine (F), sodium (Na), and oxygen (O) within the defect sites. These findings strongly implicate the involvement of complex oxide-fluoride inclusions, indicative of mold slag entrapment or re-oxidation phenomena occurring during the continuous casting process. By thoroughly integrating these analytical results with an extensive review of recent literature on sliver formation, this research elucidates the critical role of inclusion chemistry and process control in defect genesis. Based on the findings, specific recommendations are proposed for process optimization during steelmaking, particularly focusing on ladle metallurgy, continuous casting parameters (e.g., mold flux properties, flow control), and tundish operations, aiming to effectively mitigate the formation of these detrimental defects.</p>