A new, more physically realistic and practically useful model is presented for the simulation of high temperature austenite flow curves. It is an extension of our earlier empirical model based on the Avrami kinetics of dynamic recrystallization. In the new approach, the normalization parameter is expressed in terms of the fractional recrystallization and not the amount of softening. Compression experiments carried out on a Nb-modified plain carbon steel enable the simulated flow curves and progress of recrystallization predicted by the two models to be compared.© 2011 ISIJ.