In this paper, the hot-rolled AZ31 Mg alloy sheet was chosen as studied project, the effect of texture on slip and twin activations of Mg alloy samples during compression at room temperature was studied by electron backscatter diffraction technique (EBSD). The samples, machined from the rolled Mg alloy sheet, were compressed with the compression axes tilted 0°，30°，60° and 90° from the sheet normal direction, respectively. A high yield stress, without distinct yield platform, is observed for the 0° samples. The critical resolved shear stress (CRSS) of extension twin is higher than that of basal slip. The number of {10-12} extension twin was increased gradually with the increase of the angle. The plastic deformation of the 0° samples are mainly performed by slips due to inactive tension twin, and low-angle boundaries increase obviously. There are more low-angle boundaries in the 60° samples than 30° samples because of the activation of prismatic slip.