Abstract: The chemical reaction of ilmenite under the atmosphere of pre-oxidization and carbon reduction in the microwave field was studied.The phase，morphology and composition of the oxidization-reduction products were characterized by XRD， SEM，and EDS.The selective iron leaching behavior of reduced ilmenite was studied with dilute sulfuric acid（mass fraction of 20%）.Results showed that ilmenite oxidization for 8 min in microwave field（700 W，2.45 GHz） generated Fe2TiO5，Fe2O3，and TiO2  phases. After carbon-reduction treatment，the iron ions of ilmenite diffused from non-hotspot position to hotspot position and reduced to metal Fe.The metal Fe migrated together and attached to the surface of ilmenite.The microwave treatment significantly accelerated the rate of iron leaching above to 75% after leaching for 30 min in 20%（mass fraction） sulfuric acid at 40 ℃。

Key words: ilmenite, microwave, pre-oxidization, carbon reduction, sulfuric acid leaching