Austenitic stainless steel 316 L is widely used in various industries due to its good mechanical properties at elevated temperatures (up to 600 °C), excellent corrosion resistance, and relatively low cost. However, there is lack on investigations of high-temperature properties of direct laser deposited (DLD) 316 L alloy. In the present investigation, tensile tests were performed at temperatures ranging from 20 to 1000 °C to study the effect of temperature on mechanical properties and work hardening behaviour. It was found that DLD-processed 316 L alloy has minor anisotropy of mechanical properties and work hardening behaviour at elevated temperatures higher than 200 °C. A gradual decrease in yield stress accompanied by a slight altering of ductility in the temperature range between 200 °C and 700 °C is caused by the dynamic strain ageing effect. At higher temperatures, a rapid decrease in mechanical properties is observed. Strength properties of the DLD alloy are lower in comparison with selective laser melted alloy but higher than those of wrought alloy up to 900 °C. Stress-strain curves of the material has shown stage-by-stage work hardening behaviour, depending on the test temperature. Dilatometric tests revealed a linear increase in the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) during heating up to 670 °C for the longitudinal sample and up to 770 °C for the transverse one. Then a non-linear growth of the CTE was observed due to diffusion-controlled transformation of the delta-ferrite to austenite.