This study investigates the effect of temperature on the hydrogen reduction of iron ore pellets, focusing on reduction degree (RD), microstructure, porosity, and reduction kinetics. Iron ore pellets were reduced in a hydrogen atmosphere at temperatures of 700–1000°C. The results show that increasing the temperature significantly enhances the reduction rate and RD. The maximum RD was achieved at 1000°C, while the minimum was at 700°C. XRD analysis confirmed that Fe₂O₃ was reduced to Fe at all tested temperatures, with traces of FeO and Fe₃O₄ remaining at lower temperatures. Mercury intrusion porosimetry revealed that porosity increased with temperature, with the highest porosity observed at 1000°C. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that at higher temperatures, the pellets exhibited larger pores and no micropores, indicating sintering. The reduction process was primarily controlled by chemical reactions at the interface, with the phase-boundary-controlled model providing a better fit than the diffusion model. The apparent activation energy for the interfacial chemical reaction was found to be 33.642 kJ/mol, slightly lower than previously reported values. The study highlights the importance of temperature in optimizing hydrogen reduction processes for environmentally friendly steel production, with implications for reducing CO₂ emissions in the steel industry.This study investigates the effect of temperature on the hydrogen reduction of iron ore pellets, focusing on reduction degree (RD), microstructure, porosity, and reduction kinetics. Iron ore pellets were reduced in a hydrogen atmosphere at temperatures of 700–1000°C. The results show that increasing the temperature significantly enhances the reduction rate and RD. The maximum RD was achieved at 1000°C, while the minimum was at 700°C. XRD analysis confirmed that Fe₂O₃ was reduced to Fe at all tested temperatures, with traces of FeO and Fe₃O₄ remaining at lower temperatures. Mercury intrusion porosimetry revealed that porosity increased with temperature, with the highest porosity observed at 1000°C. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that at higher temperatures, the pellets exhibited larger pores and no micropores, indicating sintering. The reduction process was primarily controlled by chemical reactions at the interface, with the phase-boundary-controlled model providing a better fit than the diffusion model. The apparent activation energy for the interfacial chemical reaction was found to be 33.642 kJ/mol, slightly lower than previously reported values. The study highlights the importance of temperature in optimizing hydrogen reduction processes for environmentally friendly steel production, with implications for reducing CO₂ emissions in the steel industry.