BSTRACTThe precipitation hardening is widely applied to strengthen Al alloys. Here

we report an alternative way to achieve high-strength Al alloys via forming the dislocation gradient through pre-torsion. Remarkably

the gradient Al alloys exhibit a sharp increase in ultimate tensile strength up to 605 MPa yet nearly without reducing the uniform elongation

thereby outperforming their counterparts. The superior strength–ductility combination is ascribed to the excellent strengthening and strain hardening effects stemming from the substantial hetero-deformation-induced hardening in the coarse-grained gradient Al alloys. Our study thus paves a new way to improve the mechanical properties of Al alloys.