Studies of material behavior under complex loading form a bridge between standard material testing methods and the stress analysis calculations for reactor components at high temperatures. The aim of these studies is to determine the influence of typical load change sequences on material properties, to derive the equations required for stress analyses, to carry out tests under multiaxial conditions, and to investigate the structural deformation mechanisms of creep buckling and ratcheting. The present state of the investigations within the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor materials program is described, with emphasis on the experimental apparatus, the scope of the program, and the initial results obtained.