The structural phase transition, strength, and texture of vanadium have been studied under nonhydrostatic compression up to 70 GPa using an angle-dispersive radial x-ray diffraction technique in a 2-fold paranomic diamond anvil cell and up to 38 GPa using an angle-dispersive x-ray diffraction technique in a modified Mao–Bell diamond anvil cell at room temperature. We have confirmed a phase transition from body-centered cubic structure to rhombohedral structure at 27–32 GPa under nonhydrostatic compression. The radial x-ray diffraction data yields a bulk modulus GPa and its pressure derivative for the bcc phase and with for the rhombohedral phase at ψ = 54.7°. The nonhydrostatic x-ray diffraction data of both bcc and rhombohedral phases yields a bulk modulus with . Combined with the independent constraints on the high-pressure shear modulus, it is found that the vanadium sample can support a differential stress of ∼1.6 GPa when it starts to yield with plastic deformation at ∼36 GPa. A maximum differential stress as high as ∼1.7 GPa can be supported by vanadium at the pressure of ∼47 GPa. In addition, we have investigated the texture up to 70 GPa using the software package MAUD. It is convinced that the body-centered cubic to rhombohedral phase transition and plastic deformation due to stress under high pressures are responsible for the development of texture.