The effects of annealing heat treatment and the addition of Cu element on the shape memory effect of the NiTi-based alloy were investigated by analyzing differential scanning calorimeter results and characterizing recovery rate through 3D scanning after Vickers hardness test. Through 3D scanning of impressions after Vickers hardness test, the strain recovery rates for specimens without annealing treatment and annealed specimens at 400, 450, and 500℃ were measured as 45.96%, 46.76%, 52.37%, and 43.57%, respectively. This is because as the annealing temperature increases, both B19' and NiTi₂ phases, which can impede martensitic transformation, are incorporated within the NiTi matrix. Particularly, additional phase transformation from R-phase to B19' observed in specimens annealed at 400 and 450℃ significantly contributes to the improvement in strain recovery rates. Additionally, the results regarding the Cu element content indicate that when the total content of Ni and Cu is below 49.6 at.%, the precipitation of fine B19' and NiTi₂ phases within the matrix can greatly influence the transformation enthalpy and temperature range, resulting in relatively lower strain recovery rates in NiTi alloys with a small amount of Cu element produced in this study. (Received March 7, 2024; Revised March 12, 2024; Accepted March 19, 2024)