A simple and straightforward strategy was developed for anchoring alpha-Fe2O3 nanoparticles on graphene as gas sensor material. The XRD and TEM results indicate that graphene sheets are decorated with alpha-Fe2O3 nanoparticles with various diameters and shapes. To demonstrate the potential applications, we have fabricated gas sensors using the as-synthesized alpha-Fe2O3@graphene and investigated sensor activity for ethanol detection. The results show that an appropriate content of graphene dopant could effectively enhance the gas-sensing properties of alpha-Fe2O3 operated at different temperatures. Especially, the alpha-Fe2O3@graphene (contained 2 wt% of graphene) sensor exhibits better sensor performances in comparison with pure alpha-Fe2O3 counterpart, indicating the potential applications as sensor material toward ethanol detection. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.