Iron oxide
Earthy pigments made from iron and oxygen, found in nature and used since prehistory
No single value: Iron oxide is a material, and its colour varies. The background shows its family, brown.
Iron oxide is a group of compounds made from iron and oxygen, ranging in colour from yellow and red to brown and black. These pigments are found widely in nature and have been used in art, paint, and construction since prehistoric times. They are valued for being strong in colour, inexpensive, and safe to use.
- Used as pigment in cave art around 15,000 BC
- Colours range from yellow and red to brown and black
- Made from iron and oxygen found in natural minerals
- Used as food colouring with E number E172
- Nontoxic and long-lasting pigment for paints and concrete
What colour is Iron oxide?
Iron oxide refers to a group of chemical compounds made from iron and oxygen. These compounds appear in a range of earthy colours, including yellow, red, brown, and black. The most familiar forms are rust, hematite, and magnetite. Iron oxides are found naturally in rocks and soils and are used as pigments because they are strong in colour and last a long time. Their earthy tones set them apart from brighter synthetic pigments.
Where does Iron oxide come from?
The name 'iron oxide' comes from its chemical makeup: iron combined with oxygen. People have used iron oxide pigments since the earliest days of painting, including in prehistoric cave art dating back to around 15,000 BC in Asia. The colours come from natural minerals such as hematite and magnetite, which have been ground up for use in art and decoration for thousands of years.
How is Iron oxide made?
Iron oxide pigments are made by grinding up natural minerals that contain iron and oxygen, such as hematite (red), magnetite (black), or goethite (yellow-brown). These minerals are either mined or collected from natural deposits. In industry, iron oxides can also be produced by chemical reactions involving iron and oxygen, often as a by-product of making iron metal.
Where Iron oxide is used
Iron oxides are widely used as pigments in paints, coatings, and coloured concrete. They are also used to colour food (as E172), and in printing inks. Their durability and safety make them popular in building materials and art. In the past, people used them in cave paintings, and today they remain common in many everyday products.
Brown around the world
What the brown family means from country to country.
Brown is the colour of Nazism in German political speech, after the brown shirts of the party's stormtroopers. To call a view "brown" is to call it far right.
Politics and protestDanger and warningShameSource: SturmabteilungMasi is bark cloth beaten from paper mulberry and printed in brown and black. It is worn at weddings and funerals and given in ceremonial exchanges.
Sacred and holyWeddings and marriageSource: Tapa clothKuntunkuni is a dark brown mourning cloth of the Asante, dyed with tree bark. Adinkra cloth, stamped with symbols, was first made on such dark grounds for funerals.
Mourning and deathSadnessSource: Adinkra symbolsThe batik of the Javanese courts at Yogyakarta and Surakarta is dyed in soga brown with indigo and cream. Some court patterns were once reserved for the royal family.
Royalty and powerPrideSource: BatikBogolanfini, or mud cloth, is cotton painted with fermented river mud in browns, black and white. Hunters wear it for protection, and women after childbirth.
Protection and healingSacred and holySource: B貌g貌lanfiniShades and relatives of Iron oxide
There are several forms of iron oxide, each with its own colour. Hematite gives a red pigment, magnetite is black, and goethite is yellow-brown. These can be confused with other earthy pigments, but their iron content sets them apart. Iron oxide pigments are often grouped together because of their similar origins and uses.
Questions people ask about Iron oxide
What colour is iron oxide?
Iron oxide pigments can be yellow, red, brown, or black, depending on the mineral form. Hematite is red, magnetite is black, and goethite is yellow-brown.
Where does the name 'iron oxide' come from?
The name comes from its chemical composition: it is made of iron and oxygen combined together.
How long have people used iron oxide pigments?
Iron oxide pigments have been used since at least 15,000 BC, as seen in prehistoric cave art in parts of Asia.
Is iron oxide safe to use?
Yes, iron oxide pigments are nontoxic and are used in food, paints, and building materials.
What are some common uses of iron oxide?
Iron oxide is used in paints, coloured concrete, printing inks, and as a food colouring (E172).
Good reading and sources
- Iron oxide on WikipediaEncyclopedia
- More pictures on Wikimedia CommonsPictures
- Wikidata recordOpen data
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Iron oxide", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryRang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. The swatch is an approximation: named colours are not fixed standards, and every screen shows them a little differently. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.
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