Abstract: Carbon foams with high performance have been successfully prepared from mesophase pitch in the presence of iron nitrite. The effect of iron nitrite on preparation of carbon foams was focused and addressed in detail. The decomposition behavior of mesophase pitch with and without Fe(NO3)3 or mixed with SiO2 were studied using TG, XRD techniques, and an NOx analyzer. The carbon foams were examined using SEM and XRD. The results indicate that the presence of Fe(NO3)3 is advantageous to the preparation of carbon foams with well-developed and uniform cell structures. During the carbonization treatment stage, several iron species were detected at different temperatures, of which iron carbides dominate as main iron species in carbon foams obtained at 1500℃. It is believed that iron species in carbon foams function, to some degree, as a catalyst for the graphitization of carbon foams.