SUS304 is wellknown as difficult-to-machine materials. It is easy to appear workhardened, and workhardening is one of the causes of groove wear on the tool. In this paper, the author would like to compare the width of flank wear with that of groove wear, and to find whether the groove wear can be used as a criterion of a tool life. The design of the twelve tests provides three levels for each variable (speed: 200m/min, 118m/min, 70m/min; feed: 0.3mm/rev, 0.17mm/rev, 0.1mm/rev; depth of cut: 0.4mm, 0.28mm, 0.2mm). The study of tool-life testing by statistical technique follows usual most scientific sequence. So the tool-life predicting equation is calculated by the method of least squares. The overall adequacy of the model can be verified by the analysis of variance. The results obtained are as follows : 1) When SUS304 is cut in 200(m/min), the width of flank wear is much larger than that of groove wear. 2) In cutting speed 118m/min, flank wear is a little larger than groove wear and in the cutting speed 70m/min, the latter is a little larger so that it is reasonable to determine the tool life according the crierion by groove wear in the low cutting speed (less than 70m/min). 3) Owing to the burr the depth of engagement along the cutting edge is extended toward the shank.