Efficient reduction of surface oxides formed during water atomization of PM steels is critical in order to obtain stronger necks and to achieve the required mechanical properties for sintered parts. In this work dry oxidation behavior and reduction kinetics were evaluated for pure iron (ASC 100.29) and low chromium steel (Astaloy CrM) through microstructural characterization and temperature programmed reduction (TPR) respectively. DRX analysis at several incident angles and optical microscopy evidenced different oxide layer structures for both sintered materials after pre-oxidation treatment in air at 700°C for 45 minutes. TPR runs were carried out with 90%Ar-10%H2 atmosphere at constant heating rates on pre-oxidized powders with or without admixed graphite. The obtained TPR peaks sequences and the corresponding activation energies and pre-exponential factors indicates significant influence of chromium and carbon content during the reduction processes. TPR is shown as a valuable technique to understand solid-gas interactions phenomena during sintering and powder fabrication.