With the increasing demand for light-weight materials to reduce fuel consumption, the automobile industry has extensively studied magnesium alloys which are light weight metals. The intrinsic poor formability and poor ductility at ambient temperature due to the hexagonal close-packed (HCP) crystal structure and the associated insufficient number of independent slip systems restricts the practical usage of these alloys. Hot working of magnesium alloys using a forging or extrusion enables net-shape manufacturing with enhanced formability and ductility since there are several operative non-basal slip systems in addition to basal slip plane, which increases the workability. In this research, the thermomechanical properties of AZ80 Mg alloy were obtained by compression testing at the various temperatures and strain rates. Optical microscopy and EBSD were used to study the microstructural behavior such as misorientation distribution and dynamic recrystallization. The results were correlated to the hardening and the softening of the alloy. The experimental data in conjunction with a physical explanation provide the optimal conditions for net-shape forging under hot or warm temperatures through control of the grain refinement and the working conditions.