The effect of iron(III) ion on microwave pyrolysis of moso bamboo was investigated. Hydrofluoric acid washing was used as a pilot process to demineralize moso bamboo in order to eliminate the influences of the other inorganics contained in moso bamboo itself. The results indicated that the addition of iron (III) ion increased the maximal reaction temperatures under microwave condition dependent on the amount of the added iron(III) ion. The production of the non-condensable gases was promoted by the addition of iron(III) ion mainly at the expense of liquid products. Iron(III) ion exhibited the positive effect for syngas production and inhibited the formation of CO2 and CH4. The formation of Fe2O3 and Fe3O4 was found during microwave pyrolysis and the mechanism of the two metallic oxides formation was described in this work. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.