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Abstract The effects of solution temperature and cooling rate on microstructure and micro-hardness of a hot compressed Ti-6Al-4V alloy are investigated. The microstructure observations reveal the occurrence of static recrystallization during solution treatment. The lamellar α phases firstly decompose into the short-rod phases, and then gradually spheroidize. The increased solution temperature can accelerate the transformation of α grain boundary from the low-angle grain boundaries (LAGB) to the high-angle grain boundaries (HAGB). So, the growth and spheroidization of α grains become more and more obvious. Meanwhile, the precipitation of secondary α phases is promoted. The micro-hardness is significantly improved after the solution treatment, i.e., the micro-hardness undergoes the rapid decrease and slow increase with raising the solution temperature. In addition, the cooling rate has great impact on the microstructures and micro-hardness. With reducing the cooling rate, the mean size of equiaxed α grains and the thickness of lamellar α phases obviously increase. Highlights • Effects of post-deformation heat treatment on microstructures and micro-hardness of Ti-6Al-4V alloy are studied. • Lamellar α phases firstly decompose into the short-rod phases, and then gradually spheroidize. • The increased solution temperature accelerates the transformation of α grain boundary from LAGB to HAGB. • Micro-hardness undergoes the rapid decreases and slow increase with the increase of solution temperature. • The mean size of equiaxed α grains and the thickness of lamellar α phases increase with reducing cooling rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]