The effects of different waste gas recovery sintering (WGRS) cases on iron ore sintering were determined through a sintering pot test and compared with conventional sintering (CS). Two key operational parameters were identified selectively, namely, the temperature and lean-oxygen content of recycled gas. The chosen values of these parameters for the sintering pot test were close to those in industrial production conditions. The proportion of the sintering mixture was standardized by ensuring the generation of mass-averaged particles with similar sizes. The changes in the sinter quality indices and in the process parameters under different WGRS cases were systematically analyzed to demonstrate the feasibility of replacing CS production with WGRS technology. The optimal temperature ranged from 200°C to 250°C, and the optimal oxygen content was 20%. Therefore, this work can guide the industrial application of WGRS in China considerably. C⃝ 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 00(0): 1-13, 2015; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj).