<p>Red mud is an alkaline solid waste generated by the alumina industry. Its annual global emissions have exceeded 180 million tons, and its prolonged open storage is prone to causing soil alkalization and air pollution. Red mud is considered to be a potential secondary resource given its rich valuable metal content. To realize the efficient resource utilization of red mud and convert solid waste into useful resources as much as possible, related researchers have carried out various studies on the recovery of iron from red mud. The relevant literature in recent years was summarized and analyzed. The research progress of iron resource recovery technology from red mud and the resource utilization of its tailings were also reviewed. In terms of iron recovery technologies, the process principles, technical characteristics, and limitations of these technologies for traditional methods such as physical sorting, pyrometallurgy, and hydrometallurgy, as well as emerging technologies including bioleaching, biomass pyrolysis reduction, and electrochemistry, are highlighted. A comparative analysis of the applicability of various technologies provides theoretical support for the selection of iron recovery processes under different conditions. At the same time, for the characteristics of the tailings produced after iron extraction from red mud, the ways of resource utilization in the fields of building materials and cementitious materials are discussed in depth, so as to realize the efficient utilization of the components of red mud. Finally, based on the research results obtained above and the current problems of red mud resource utilization, the sustainable development direction of red mud resource utilization in the future is prospected.</p>