Post weld heat treatment(PWHT), at more than 600.deg. C, is essential to remove residual stress and hydrogen in weld HAZ and improve fatigue characteristics. However, residual stress during PWHT is responsible for PWHT embitterment and it promotes precipitation of impurities to grain boundary. In this paper, the effect of stress simulated residual stress on fatigue failure was evaluated by fatigue test, microhardness test and fractograph. The obtained results are summarized as follows; (1) The fatigue crack growth rate(da/dN) of parent and heat treated parent was affected by microstructure due to heat treatment and it depended on stress intensity factor (.DELTA.k). (2) The fatigue strength of weld HAZ was dependent on applied stress during PWHT and da/dN after PWHT was slower than as-weld. (3) Softening amount of weld HAZ was bigger than any other due to PWHT. Hardness value of weld HAZ was affected by heat treatment under the applied stress of 10 $kgf/mm^2$, but beyond 20 $kgf/mm^2$ it was increased by the applied stress rather than heat treatment. (4) Beyond the applied stress of 20 $kgf/mm^2$ during PWHT, intergranular fracture surface was observed and its amount was increased with applied stress during PWHT. (5) Effect of applied stress during PWHT on aspect of fracture surface was larger rather than that on fatigue crack growth behavior.