In order to study the effect of adding finely ground iron filings as iron‐based solid wastes to the pellets’ raw materials on the consolidation strength of pellets, this article uses scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and an image recognition system to identify the microstructure inside iron ore agglomerates, including grain size and porosity. Compressive strength measurements are carried out to quantitatively characterize the consolidation strength of agglomerates. The results demonstrate that when the proportion of iron filings increases, the proportion of particles above 6000 px2 in samples increases from 12.35% to 25.00%, and the internal porosity of agglomerates drops from 22.44% to 10.57%. The compressive strength of agglomerates increases from 2934.00 to 3712.50 N when the particle size of iron filings decreases. The compressive strength of agglomerates increases as preheating temperature drops at the same roasting temperature. When the preheating system is the same, the compressive strength of agglomerates increases as the roasting temperature rises. By adding low‐oxidation iron filings to pellets, Fe2O3 generated through the preheating process has a high chemical reaction activity, allowing the oxidation to be completed at a lower preheating temperature and promoting the crystal bonding of Fe2O3 to form solid‐phase consolidation with high compressive strength.