Abstract The anisotropy induced in an ungelled SBR elastomer upon large scale deformation and the rate at which the deformed elastomer returns to its original state upon removal of the deforming force were investigated. In these experiments, a standard birefringence technique was unsuitable for measuring the extent of orientation after release, however, tensile stress-strain measurements successfully showed the presence of anisotropy. After prestraining and then releasing, samples have an initial resistance to deformation which is the same both parallel and perpendicular to the prestraining direction. However, testpieces cut parallel with the prestraining direction show stress-strain curves that lie above those for cross-cut specimens at high elongations, while cross-cut samples have stress-strain curves remarkably similar to those of the isotropic controls. With increasing time after prestraining or for larger prestrains, the normalized anisotropy, at intermediate elongations, becomes negative; that is, in this region, it becomes easier to deform “parallel” specimens than to deform “perpendicular” specimens. This phenomenon is proposed to be the result of two opposing entanglement networks—an original one, which remains in tension, and a compressed one, which was formed by chains re-entangling while the sample was extended. Although the shapes of the “parallel” and “perpendicular” stress-strain curves may be quite different, the total energy required to rupture the samples in both cases is similar. Finally, for a lightly crosslinked sample, it is demonstrated that after various prestrains, hold times, and relaxation times before testing after prestraining, the normalized anisotropy is a unique function of the residual extension at the moment when the specimens were tested.