The texture evolution of cold-rolled Zircaloy-2 sheets during the alpha -> beta ->alpha phase transformation was characterized in situ using high-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction. It was found that the strong rolling texture is initially modified during heating, evidencing recrystallization, after which it is weakened by a complete phase transformation. Hardly any variant selection was observed during alpha -> beta phase transformation. When the material was rapidly cooled back from above the beta-transus, the alpha texture exhibited moderated variant selection. In a study of the effect of maximum heating temperature on the inherited alpha texture, it was found that incomplete transformations, even with peak temperatures nearing the beta-transus, resulted in a perfect texture memory in spite of dramatic morphological changes in the microstructure. (C) 2009 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ; Times Cited: 5