Austenitization in X4CrNiMo16-5-1 supermartensitic stainless steel occurs in two distinct stages. Two-stage austenitization kinetics can be predicted by using kinetics modeling. The rate of the first stage of austenitization is determined by Ni-diffusion in the body-centered-cubic martensite lattice. The rate of the second stage of austenitization is determined by Ni-diffusion in the face-centered-cubic austenite lattice.