The α-Fe 2 O 3 micro-ellipsoids were prepared using a facile hydrothermal process without any surfactant or template, and their morphological, structural and H 2 S sensing properties were investigated.The α-Fe 2 O 3 showed uniform micro-ellipsoids with a long axis diameter of 1.7 µm and a short axis diameter of 1.2 µm. Detailed structural analysis confirmed that the synthesized α-Fe 2 O 3 micro-ellipsoids were compact particles with a hexagonal structure. Gas sensor base on the α-Fe 2 O 3 micro-ellipsoids showed excellent response, short response/recovery time (less than 90 s and 30 s, respectively), low detection concentration (~0.5 ppm), good long-term stability and excellent selectivity towards H 2 S gas at the optimized operating temperature of 350 o C. The sensing mechanism of the sensor based on the α-Fe 2 O 3 micro-ellipsoids towards H 2 S was discussed.