The characteristics and kinetics of iron oxide reduction by carbon in biomass composites were studied. Iron oxide can be reduced by biomass very rapidly, and the amount of metallisation and reduction increases with temperature. Iron oxide reduction by carbon in biomass can be divided into two stages: reduction by volatile carbon followed by reduction by non-volatile carbon. The reduction times of the two stages both decrease with increasing temperature. The first reduction is controlled by gas diffusion, whereas the second stage is dominated by carbon gasification.