What Is Iron in a Blood Test?

Serum iron measures the amount of iron circulating in your blood bound to transferrin.

Normal Range

• Men: 60–170 µg/dL
• Women: 30–160 µg/dL

Why It Fluctuates

• Varies throughout the day (higher in morning)
• Affected by recent meals
• Not reliable as a single test

How to Interpret

• Always check with ferritin (iron stores) and TIBC (transport capacity)
• Low iron + high TIBC + low ferritin = iron deficiency
• High iron + high ferritin + high saturation = iron overload