Hydrogen-based direct reduction (HyDR) of iron ores has attracted immense attention and is considered a forerunner technology for sustainable ironmaking. It has a high potential to mitigate CO ₂ emissions in the steel industry, which accounts today for ~ 8–10% of all global CO ₂ emissions. Direct reduction produces highly porous sponge iron via natural-gas-based or gasified-coal-based reducing agents that contain hydrogen and organic molecules. Commercial technologies usually operate at elevated pressure, e.g., the MIDREX process at 2 bar and the HyL/Energiron process at 6–8 bar. However, the impact of H ₂ pressure on reduction kinetics and microstructure evolution of hematite pellets during hydrogen-based direct reduction has not been well understood. Here, we present a study about the influence of H ₂ pressure on the reduction kinetics of hematite pellets with pure H ₂ at 700 °C at various pressures, i.e., 1, 10, and 100 bar under static gas exposure, and 1.3 and 50 bar under dynamic gas exposure. The microstructure of the reduced pellets was characterized by combining X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy equipped with electron backscatter diffraction. The results provide new insights into the critical role of H ₂ pressure in the hydrogen-based direct reduction process and establish a direction for future furnace design and process optimization. Graphical Abstract: (Figure presented.)