Thin film of metallic iron (alpha-Fe) nanorod directly from nanorods of akaganeite (beta-FeOOH) under hydrogen reduction atmosphere through an aqueous chemical method has been investigated in the present work. The beta-FeOOH and reduced alpha-Fe nanorod are one-dimensional, rod-like shape with diameters of approximately 100-150 and 150-200 nm, respectively. Fe K-edge XANES/EXAFS spectra have been indicated that beta-FeOOH and alpha-Fe nanorods mainly consist of Fe(III) and Fe(0) species. As shown in RIXS spectra, the iron nanorods are quite active and easily oxidized or corroded in the synthetic processes or analytical processes. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.