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Cold-worked Inconel 718 alloy has successful applications in turbine engines due to its elevated strength. Otherwise, cold working will bring about the undesired ductility degradation accompanied with strength improving. Meanwhile, the susceptibility to δ precipitation is increased with modified morphology. To address these issues, this work aims expressing the effect of cold-rolling on hot ductility and the role of δ phase regarding differential morphologies in tensile behavior of Inconel 718 alloy at 650 °C. The results revealed that the ductility degradation can be attributed to the interactions of necking, microstructure instability and oxidation process tailored by cold-rolling. Nevertheless, appropriate cold-rolling is proved to enhance the resistance to crack propagation. The needlelike δ phase in strain-free structure tightly hindered the migration of horizontal GBs to enhance the strength but promote the intergranular brittle cracking, resulting in the degradation of ductility. In contrast, the δ phase with modified granular morphology in cold-rolled structures showed good deformation compatibility with horizontal GBs, playing a positive role in delaying necking occurrence and impeding crack propagation. In summary, the granular δ precipitation endowed cold-rolled Inconel 718 alloy with a superior combination of strength and ductility at 650 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]