In order to clarify the interactions among metal oxides during reduction of pickling sludge, the reduction mechanism of the metal oxide mixture, Fe 2 O 3 -NiO-Cr 2 O 3 , which simulates the composition of these metal oxides in pickling sludge, was studied using graphite as a reductant, by means of thermal analysis techniques. X-ray diffraction analysis was used for characterization of reduction products. In addition to the reduction test on the metal oxide mixture mentioned above, for comparison, separate tests on the reduction of Fe 2 O 3 , NiO and Cr 2 O 3 were also conducted. The results demonstrate that through formation of a transitional compound 'FeCr 2 O 4 ', Fe 2 O 3 promotes the complete reduction of Cr 2 O 3 at a temperature lower than that required for reducing pure Cr 2 O 3 . On the other hand, Cr 2 O 3 hinders the reduction of Fe 2 O 3 at lower temperatures. The whole reduction process may be classified as five distinguishable reduction stages in which possible reactions were proposed to represent the reduction mechanism. The reduced metals in the final product exist primarily in the form of solid solutions, such as 'Cr-Fe-Ni', which mainly containing '(Fe,Ni)' and '(Fe,Cr)', and small amounts of carbides, such as (Cr,Fe) 7 C 3 and/or Cr 7 C 3 .