Abstract: The influences of different types of electrolytes on the electrochemical plasticization (EP) of 304L stainless steel bars in the electrochemical cold drawing (ECD) process were investigated by using methods such as drawing force， microhardness and electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD)， and the traditional cold drawing (TCD) was compared. The results show that 304L stainless steel is pitted in NaCl and HCl solutions， and the pits on the surface of bar are scattered and uneven， significantly affecting the electrochemical plasticization effect. Although it is uniformly corroded in H2O (tap water) and NaOH solution， the corrosion rate is too slow， resulting in an insignificant plasticization effect. In dilute H2SO4 solution， the electrochemical corrosion rate is the fastest and uniform， and the plasticization effect is the best. After drawing， the dislocation density in the deformation layer on the surface of bar is the lowest， the deformation layer is the thinnest， and the deformation degree of grains in the deformation layer is the smallest， resulting in the smallest degree of work hardening on the surface of bar， making the drawing easier. Compared with TCD， the maximum reduction rate of ECD single-pass drawing force in H2SO4 solution reaches 34.8%， and the maximum reduction in surface hardness is 37.1%. Thus， compared with TCD， ECD obtains the products with better surface quality.