Nowadays many water resources are polluted by anthropogenic sources including household
and agricultural waste and industrial processes. Public concern over the environmental impact
of wastewater pollution has increased. Several conventional wastewater treatment techniques,
i.e. chemical coagulation, adsorption, activated sludge, have been applied to remove the
pollution, however there are still some limitations, especially that of high operation costs. The
use of zero-valent iron as a reductive medium is receiving increased interest due to its low
operation and maintenance costs. In addition, it is easy-to-obtain, with good effectiveness and
ability for degrading contaminants. This paper reviews the use of zero-valent iron to remove
contaminants from wastewater such as halogenated hydrocarbon compounds, heavy metals,
dyes, pesticides, and herbicides, which represent the main pollutants in wastewater.