To improve the low work hardening capacity of Hadfield steel at low stress, the effect of stacking fault energy (SFE) on the microstructures and the work hardening behaviors of the Fe–Mn–Si–C high manganese steels were investigated by varying the silicon and carbon contents. The work hardening rates of the Fe–17Mn–Si–C steels with lower SFE were higher than that of the Hadfield steel at the strain below 0.28. The reason was that the amount of deformation-induced ε-martensite or mechanical twins was higher in the Fe–17Mn–Si–C steels than in the Hadfield steel due to their earlier onset. The work hardening rate of the Fe–17Mn–Si–C steels increased with decreasing the SFE because the rate of the formation and the amounts of martensite and twins increased with lowering the SFE. Display omitted •The Fe–Mn–Si–C steels show a higher work hardening rate than Hadfield steel does.•More martensite account for higher work hardening rates in the Fe–Mn–Si–C steels.•The lower the stacking fault energy is, the earlier the onset of martensite is.