Strain ageing in steel was first observed during the 19th century when the maximum load carrying capacity of a test piece was increased after it had been retested following a previous series of testing in a plastic range. Over the last decades,a great deal of research has been performed to gain deeper insights into the phenomenon of strain ageing. The synergistic development of theoretical hypothesis and new experimental evidences has promoted the understanding of the mechanisms underlying strain ageing. The content of this paper is organized into four components. First,we have compared the main theories developed in recent years. Second,we have summarized the metallurgical effects on the strain ageing behavior observed in experiments. Moreover,we have made an attempt to correlate the experimental results and the above-mentioned theories. Third,we have proposed a feasible solution to control strain ageing in low carbon steels. Finally,we have elaborated the potentiality of the atom probe technique in facilitating direct characterization of the distribution of solute atoms. Strain aging in steel was first observed during the 19th century when the maximum load carrying capacity of a test piece was increased after it had been retedted following a previous series of testing in a plastic range. Over the last decades, a great deal of research has been performed to gain deeper insights into the phenomenon of strain aging. The synergistic development of theoretical hypothesis and new experimental evidences has promoted the understanding of the mechanisms underlying strain aging. The content of this paper is organized into four components. First, we have compared Second, we have made the metallurgical effects on the strain aging behavior observed in experiments. Moreover, we have made an attempt to correlate the experimental results and the above-mentioned theories. Third, we have proposed a feasible solution to control strain aging in low carbon steels. Finally, we have elaborated the potentiality of the atom pro be technique in facilitating direct characterization of the distribution of solute atoms.