In this study, an AISI 316 L alloy was manufactured using a selective laser melting (SLM) process. The tensile and impact toughness properties of the SLM AISI 316 L alloy were examined. In addition, stress relieving heat treatment (650°C / 2 h) was performed on the as-built SLM alloy to investigate the effects of heat treatment on the mechanical properties. In the as-built SLM AISI 316 L alloy, cellular dendrite and molten pool structures were observed. Although the molten pool did not disappear following heat treatment, EBSD KAM analytical results confirmed that the fractions of the low- and high-angle boundaries decreased and increased, respectively. As the heat treatment was performed, the yield strength decreased, but the tensile strength and elongation increased only slightly. Impact toughness results revealed that the impact energy increased by 33.5% when heat treatment was applied. The deformation behavior of the SLM AISI 316 L alloy was also examined in relation to the microstructure through analyses of the tensile and impact fracture surfaces.