Austenitic stainless steel type 304L has been nitrided under the low pressure of high nitrogen environment for 5 hours by the square-wave-pulse-d.c. plasma as a function of temperature 400~$600^{circ}C$ and of pulsation. At the temperature range lower than $500^{circ}C$ and at the relatively high ratio of pulse duration to pulse period, nonstoichiometric stainless steel nitride has been developed in the form of a thin layer which has many cracks. At the temperature range higher than $500^{circ}C$, with the increasing temperature or with the increasing ratio of the pulse duration to pulse period up to 50s/100s, the nitrided layer was composed mainly of CrN and Fe4N phases and became thick, uniform, columnar and nearly crack-free. The nitrided layer at $500^{circ}C$ was mixed with the low-temperature layer and the high temperature layer and was very brittle.