The springback and anelastic behavior of selected Mg alloys were investigated as a function of thermo-mechanical state and loading conditions by strain-recovery experiments in three-point bending. The observed stress relaxations were primarily due to recoverable microstructural relaxations and the transformation of linear-elastic strains to recoverable time-dependent anelastic strains. This transformation occurs by thermally activated dislocation motion or reversible twin movement and influences the magnitude of the springback effect. The amount of anelastic strain observed during stress relaxation experiments was found to depend on four factors: initial dislocation density (cold work), applied strain levels, temperature, and holding time at fixed strain levels.