Iron metal anode satisfies the safety, low-cost, non-toxicity, and energy-dense pursuits chasing by the battery community, but passivation, parasitic hydrogen evolution reaction, and low plating efficiency challenging its electrochemical performance limit its continuous practical applications. Here, the redox behaviors of the iron metal anode in both alkaline and acidic electrolytes have been summarized first to shape the fundamental mechanisms. Recent progress in developing high-performance iron metal anodes has been introduced with the highlights on representative strategies, including electrode additives, electrolyte modification, and nanoarchitecture. Especially, the history of aqueous battery systems with iron metal anode is overviewed from its earliest beginning to the new era, following by the discussion regarding the specialization of each system. We believe this review could bring the fundament of redox behavior for optimizing the iron metal anode and pave a way toward a reliable iron-based aqueous battery.

铁金属负极满足了电池界对安全、低成本、无毒和高能量密度的追求，但钝化、寄生析氢反应和低电镀效率挑战了其电化学性能，限制了其持续的实际应用。在这里，首先总结了铁金属阳极在碱性和酸性电解质中的氧化还原行为，以形成基本机制。介绍了开发高性能铁金属阳极的最新进展，重点介绍了代表性策略，包括电极添加剂、电解质改性和纳米结构。特别是铁金属负极水系电池系统的历史从最早的开始到新时代的概述，接下来是关于每个系统的专业化的讨论。我们相信这篇综述可以为优化铁金属负极的氧化还原行为奠定基础，并为可靠的铁基水系电池铺平道路。