A type of spontaneous brittle failure in steels and other high-strength alloys when they are in contact with moist hydrogen sulfide and other sulfidic environments.

Sulfide stress cracking is also called hydrogen sulfide cracking, sulfide cracking, sulfide corrosion cracking and sulfide stress-corrosion cracking. The variation of the name is due to the lack of agreement in the mechanism of failure. Some researchers consider sulfide-stress cracking a type of stress-corrosion cracking, while others consider it a type of hydrogen embrittlement.