An investigation has been carried out to verify if the strain rate sensitivity effect of 316 steel material can be measured using the small punch test method. It was found that the effect was observed during small punch testing over a displacement rate range of 0.0125 – 1.25 mm/min, with maximum load increasing as the rate increased, and the strain rate sensitivity exponent m was calculated as 0.018. This result highlights the importance of specifying the strain rate conditions when using the small punch test method.