The fracture behaviour in air and aggressive environments of two eutectoid steels in the forms of hot-rolled bar and cold drawn wire has been compared to elucidate the consequences of cold drawing on their susceptibility to environmentally assisted cracking (EAC) in aqueous environments. Cold drawing produces a microstructural effect on the material : a preferential orientation of the pearlite lamellae aligned parallel to the cold-drawing direction, resulting in anisotropic properties with regard to fracture behaviour in air and aggressive environments. The main consequence is the change in crack-propagation direction approaching that of the wire axis (cold-drawing direction or main average orientation of the pearlite lamellae) and producing a mixed-mode state. The results reported provide insight into the macro- and micro-mechanical effects of cold drawing on the fracture and EAC-behaviour of eutectoid pearlitic steels.