To investigate the effects of pressure on the hot isostatic pressing (HIP) process of a stainless steel powder,density distribution and deformation of the powder at four different applied pressure levels were predicted and compared by using finite element method (FEM).Constitutive relations of porous compacts during HIP process were derived based on the yield criterion of porous metal materials.Thermo-mechanical coupling calculations were carried out by the MSC.Marc.Densification mechanisms were studied through evolutions of relative density,equivalent plastic strain and equivalent viscoplastic strain rate for compacts.The simulation results were also compared with experimental data.The results show that the densification rate and final density of compacts increase dramatically with the increase in the applied pressure level when it is below 100 MPa during HIP process,and the creep for compacts evolves into steady stage with the improvement of density.