Electric arc furnace dust (EAFD) is a hazardous industrial waste generated in the collection of particulate material during steelmaking process via electric arc furnace. Important elements to the industry such as, Fe and Zn are the main ones in EAFD. Due to their presence, it becomes very important to know how these elements are combined before studying new technologies for its processing. The aim of this work was to carry out a chemical, physical, structural and morphological characterization of the EAFD. The investigation was carried out by using grarmlometry analysis, chemical analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy via SEM (EDS), X-ray mapping analysis via SEM, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Mossbauer spectroscopy. By XRD the following phases were detected: ZnFe2O4, Fe3O4, MgFe2O4, FeCr2O4, Ca0.15Fe2.85O4, MgO, Mn3O4, SiO2 and ZnO. On the other hand, the phases detected by Mossbauer spectroscopy were: ZnFe2O4, Fe3O4, Ca0.15Fe2.95O4 and FeCr2O4. Magnesium ferrite (MgFe2O4), observed in the XRD pattern as overlapped peaks, was not identified in the Mossbauer spectroscopy analysis. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.