ABSTRACT It is well known that pollutants affect the deterioration of iron artifacts. To store iron artifacts in a suitable environment, it is imperative to understand the mechanisms of long-term corrosion in museum environments. Although many studies have been carried out to determine the corrosion behavior of iron artifacts, little research has been undertaken to quantify soluble ions in iron corrosion. In this study, the determination of anions in the extraction solution of archaeological iron and iron coupons produced in one-year monitoring experiments was conducted using ion chromatography. Monitoring was carried out in storage and galleries at four museums in different regions of China. The results show that the ion content of the experimental samples, including iron coupons and archaeological iron samples, reflects the atmospheric corrosion environment in the museum, where acetate, formate, and sulfate ions were found present in significant concentrations in the samples. The results produced will provide guides to the accelerated aging experiment of iron with pollutants in the next step of the project.