A 2-mercaptobutanedioic acid modified enhancement-mode AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) device with a 5-fold gate was proposed for Fe 3+ specific detection. The crystal quality and surface morphology of the epitaxial material were characterized by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. The analysis of I-V characteristics and the current response of the device at a constant drain bias of 7 V show that the current response variation increased with an increase in Fe 3+ concentration. Additionally, the sensitivity of the 5-fold-gate HEMT sensor was calculated, which was found to be greater. The current response results of the HEMT after adding multiple heavy metal ions proved that the sensor specifically recognizes Fe 3+ . Therefore, the 2-mercaptobutanedioic acid modified 5-fold gate HEMT sensor has great potential in the real-time detection of trace Fe 3+ .