The Fe2O3/Al composite powders were prepared by homogeneous precipitation method. The influence of the concentration of Fe2+ and the molar ratio of raw materials on the preparation of Fe2O3/Al composite powders were investigated. X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential thermal analysis were used to analyze the morphology and structure of the Fe2O3/Al composite powders. The results show that the content of iron oxide in the composite powders could be effectively controlled by adjusting the concentration of Fe2+ and the molar ratio of raw materials in the plating solution. The surface of Al particle was coated with a layer of thick and dense iron oxide. The core-shell Fe2O3/Al composite powders with Fe2O3 content of 14.1% were produced, the coating efficiency of Fe2O3 reaches more than 77%. The iron oxide, which coated on the surface of the aluminium particle is flower-like cluster structure, each flower-like cluster is constituted by nano-flaky iron oxide. (C) 2017 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved.