Reduced iron powder is a gray or black powder mainly containing elemental iron, also known as a "double absorbent". It is generally generated by the reduction of ferric oxide under high heat conditions in a hydrogen or carbon monoxide gas flow. Due to the fact that reduced iron powder itself is in powder form and its microstructure is very loose, its surface area is large and can absorb moisture and oxygen in the air. It is commonly used for food preservation and as an excellent reducing agent in chemical production and laboratory operations.

The main uses of reduced iron powder include: ① as a raw material for powder metallurgy products, the consumption accounts for about 60-80% of the total consumption of iron powder; ② As a raw material for welding electrodes, adding 10-70% iron powder to the coating can improve the welding process of the electrode and significantly increase the deposition efficiency; ③ As a flame cutting agent, when cutting steel products, spraying iron powder into the oxygen acetylene flame can improve cutting performance, expand the range of cutting steel, and increase the thickness that can be cut; ④ It can also be used as a reducing agent in organic chemical synthesis and as a carrier for copier ink.

Reduced iron powder is commonly used to produce sponge like iron by reducing iron oxides (iron concentrate, rolled steel scales, etc.) using solid or gas reducing agents (coke, charcoal, anthracite, water gas, converted natural gas, decomposed ammonia, hydrogen, etc.).