Since fatigue cracks nucleate and initiate generally at the surface of the rotary components such as blades and discs, the surface condition is the most important factor affecting the fatigue life. Surface scratches are suitable sites for stress concentrations and therefore the nucleation stage of fatigue cracks will be shortened. In the present work, the influence of surface roughness on the low cycle fatigue life behavior of nickel-based superalloy Rene®80 at the temperature of 900°C was evaluated. Results of low cycle fatigue tests (LCF) under strain-controlled condition at 900°C for R = _εmin/εmax = 0 and strain rate of 2×10 ^–3 s ^–1, at a total strain range of 1.2% showed an inverse relationship between fatigue strength and surface roughness of the specimens. In this study, increasing the surface roughness of Rene®80 from 0.2 μm to 5.4 μm led to the decline in the final LCF life from 127 cycles to 53 cycles which indicated a 58.3% reduction in fatigue life at the same condition. Fractography evaluation also exhibited that fatigue cracks initiated from the notch in the rough specimens, whereas in the smooth specimen fatigue cracks nucleated from the internal imperfections and carbides.