Tar formation is a major drawback when biomass is converted in a gasifier to obtain gas aimed for utilisation in power production plants or for production of chemicals. Catalytic cracking is an efficient method to diminish the tar content in the gas mixture. In this study, the capability of metallic iron and iron oxides to catalytically crack tars has been experimentally examined. To obtain metallic iron, small grains of hematite (Fe2O3) were placed in a secondary reactor downstream the gasifier and reduced in situ prior to catalytic operation. The fuel used in the atmospheric fluidised bed gasifier was Swedish birch with a moisture content of approximately 7 wt%. The influence of temperature in the range 700-900 degrees C and), values (i.e. equivalence ratio, ER) between 0 and 0.20 have been investigated. In essence, the results show that raising the temperature in the catalytic bed to approximately 900 degrees C yields almost 100% tar breakdown. Moreover, increasing the). value also improves the overall tar cracking activity. The iron oxides did not demonstrate any catalytic activity. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.