Research on biodegradable iron-based materials has been increasing because they appear suitable for fabrication of temporary orthopedic and cardiovascular implants. Preliminary in vitro and in vivo studies have found that iron and some of its alloys exhibit good cyto- and biocompatibility. The main disadvantage of pure iron is its insufficient corrosion rate in physiological environments; therefore, it is necessary to modify it by suitable alloying. In this study, iron alloys containing 2 wt % of palladium, silver or carbon were prepared using powder metallurgy. The microstructure, mechanical and corrosion properties in a simulated body fluid were characterized. Compared to pure iron, alloying slightly increased porosity (from 15% to similar to 18%) and decreased the compressive modulus of elasticity (from 5.6 to 1.1-1.8 GPa), compressive proof strength (from 145 to 113-127 MPa) and the Vickers hardness (from 63 to 23-37). Alloying with palladium and carbon enhanced (whereas silver lowered) the corrosion rate of iron in a simulated body fluid. Based on the obtained results, carbon and especially palladium appear to be suitable alloying elements for iron-based biodegradable materials. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.