Abstract: Features of welding residual stress distribution in an austenitic stainless steel thick plate joint were investigated by means of experiment and numerical simulation technology.Through comparing the simulation results and experimental measurements, the prediction accuracy of the developed thermo-elastic-plastic FEM based on Quick Welder was verified. Meanwhile, the influence of welding sequence on the residual stress distribution was clarified using numerical simulation method. The results show that both transverse residual stress and longitudinal residual stress were significantly affected by deposition sequence. The deposition sequence not only largely changes the peak values of residual stress, but also alters the shape of residual stress distribution.