Abstract: The influence of sintering atmosphere on the properties of stainless steel porous filter element were discussed.Taking 100-160 mesh 316L stainless steel powder as raw material, after being pressed by cold isostatic press, the powder was sintered under vacuum and hydrogen atmosphere. The results show that the surface of the filter element is clean and bright after sintering in a vacuum atmosphere. The maximum pore diameter decreases from 18 μm to 16 μm with increasing temperature. The torus tensile strength increases from 158 MPa to 165 MPa. Sintered under the atmosphere of hydrogen, the surface of the filter is gray, notjust. The maximum diameter decreases from 16 μm to 12 μm with increasing temperature. The ring tensile strength increased from 85.2 MPa to 136 MPa. The filter core performance of the sintered stainless steel under vacuum atmosphere is better than that under hydrogen atmosphere. Therefore, the sintering under vacuum atmosphere is most suitable for the sintering preparation of 316L stainless steel filter core.