What ferritin level means iron deficiency?

Below about 30 ng/mL usually means your iron stores are low, and below 15 is clear iron deficiency. If you have an infection or a long-term inflammatory illness, ferritin can look normal even when iron is low, so the doctor reads it with transferrin saturation and your blood count.

Why is my ferritin high when my haemoglobin is low?

Usually inflammation: an infection, kidney disease, arthritis or another long-term illness raises ferritin and also slows the making of red cells. This is called anaemia of inflammation. A doctor will look at your CRP, kidney and liver tests to find the cause.

Is high ferritin dangerous?

Mostly not. In India it is most often due to fatty liver, alcohol, extra weight, diabetes or a recent illness. It matters more when transferrin saturation is also above 45% or ferritin is above 1,000 ng/mL; then see a doctor within a week or two.

Should I stop iron tablets before an iron test?

Usually yes, for a day or two, because a recent tablet raises serum iron and saturation for about a day and makes the result look better than it is. Ferritin is less affected. Ask the doctor who ordered the test if unsure.

Your iron tests, read together.

Iron studies show how much iron is moving in your blood and how much is stored. No single line tells the story: the pattern across all of them does, and ferritin is usually the most useful.

Reviewed by Dr. Prabhat Arya, MBBS, MD (Internal Medicine)

Reviewed 18 October 2026 · Next review 18 October 2027 · Sources: MedlinePlus, Testing.com

Send your report for ₹199 See every value

Read this first.

Go by the range printed on your own report. The ranges here are typical adult ranges, and labs differ, especially for ferritin.

Ferritin (stored iron) is the most reliable line. A low ferritin almost always means iron deficiency. Serum iron on its own is not: it changes through the day, falls with any illness, and jumps for a day after an iron tablet or an iron-rich meal.

Ferritin also rises with inflammation, infection, fatty liver and alcohol. So a "normal" ferritin can hide iron deficiency when one of these is present, and a high ferritin usually means one of these rather than too much iron.

Read this report with your blood count (CBC): haemoglobin and MCV show whether low iron has already caused anaemia. If you take iron tablets, stop them for a day or two before the test unless told otherwise, and compare with your last report.

Every value, one by one.

Serum iron
TIBC
UIBC
Transferrin saturation (TSAT, % saturation)
Ferritin

Serum iron

The iron travelling in your blood at the moment of the test

Typical adult range About 60–170 µg/dL (men a little higher than women)

High usually means: Most often an iron tablet, iron injection or iron-rich meal in the last day. Also liver inflammation, repeated blood transfusions (as in thalassaemia major), and inherited iron overload (haemochromatosis), which is uncommon in Indians.
Low usually means: Iron deficiency, but also any infection or inflammation, which lowers blood iron even when stores are full.
Usually nothing to worry about when: It is a little off and your ferritin and haemoglobin are normal. Serum iron alone is not enough to diagnose anything.
See a doctor when: It is high with high transferrin saturation and high ferritin (see the patterns below), or low with low ferritin and anaemia: see a doctor within a few weeks.

TIBC

Total iron-binding capacity: how much iron your blood could carry if it were full

Typical adult range About 250–450 µg/dL

High usually means: The body makes more of the iron-carrying protein (transferrin) when iron stores are low, so a high TIBC supports iron deficiency. Pregnancy and the contraceptive pill also raise it.
Low usually means: Seen with inflammation or long-term illness, liver disease, poor nutrition or protein loss, and iron overload.
Usually nothing to worry about when: It is just outside the range and your ferritin is normal.
See a doctor when: It goes with the patterns below: read it with ferritin and saturation.

UIBC

Unsaturated iron-binding capacity: the spare room for iron in your blood (TIBC minus serum iron)

Typical adult range About 110–370 µg/dL

High usually means: Lots of empty space for iron: usually iron deficiency.
Low usually means: Little empty space: the carriers are full, as with iron overload or a recent iron dose, or there are fewer carriers, as with inflammation or liver disease.
Usually nothing to worry about when: It is off but your ferritin and transferrin saturation are normal. UIBC adds little beyond TIBC.
See a doctor when: Only together with the other lines: read the patterns below.

Transferrin saturation (TSAT, % saturation)

The share of the iron carriers that are filled (serum iron ÷ TIBC × 100)

Typical adult range About 20–50%

High usually means: Carriers too full: an iron tablet or injection in the last day, liver disease, repeated transfusions, or inherited iron overload. Above about 45% on a repeat fasting test, without recent iron, needs looking into.
Low usually means: Below 20% suggests not enough iron reaching the blood: iron deficiency or the iron-trapping effect of inflammation. Below about 16% usually means true iron deficiency.
Usually nothing to worry about when: It is high the morning after an iron tablet, or slightly low during an infection with a normal ferritin.
See a doctor when: It is above 45% on a repeat fasting test without iron tablets: see a doctor within a few weeks. Below 16% with low ferritin: see a doctor within a few weeks to treat it and find the cause.

Ferritin

The body’s stored iron, mainly in the liver

Typical adult range Men about 30–400 ng/mL; women about 15–150 ng/mL (labs vary)

High usually means: Usually not too much iron. The common causes are fatty liver, alcohol, obesity, diabetes, any infection or inflammation, and recent illness. Less often: iron overload from repeated transfusions or long-term iron tablets, inherited haemochromatosis, an overactive thyroid, or liver disease. High ferritin with a normal transferrin saturation almost always means one of the common causes.
Low usually means: Iron deficiency, with no other common cause. Below about 30 ng/mL means low iron stores even if haemoglobin is still normal; below 15 is clear iron deficiency. In India the usual reasons are heavy periods, pregnancy and breastfeeding, a diet low in iron, worms, and in men or older women, slow bleeding from the stomach or bowel.
Usually nothing to worry about when: It is mildly high (up to a few hundred above the range) with fatty liver, recent infection or regular alcohol, and your transferrin saturation is normal. It often falls when the cause settles.
See a doctor when: It is low: see a doctor within a few weeks to treat it and find the cause. A man, or a woman whose periods have stopped, with low ferritin and no obvious cause needs the stomach and bowel checked: see a doctor within two weeks. Above 1,000 ng/mL, or high with transferrin saturation above 45%: see a doctor within a week or two.

Results that go together.

PatternsTypical, not certain

When you see	It usually means
Low ferritin, low iron, high TIBC, low saturation	Iron deficiency. Usually treated with iron and a search for the cause. Haemoglobin may still be normal at first.
Low iron, low or normal TIBC, normal or high ferritin	Anaemia of inflammation: iron is locked away by an infection, a long-term illness, kidney disease or arthritis. Iron tablets help little; treating the cause does. A ferritin up to about 100 with inflammation can still hide iron deficiency.
High ferritin, normal saturation	Usually fatty liver, alcohol, obesity, diabetes or inflammation, not iron overload. See liver tests.
High ferritin with saturation above 45%	Possible iron overload (from transfusions, long-term iron, or inherited haemochromatosis). The doctor will repeat the test fasting and may order more tests.
Low MCV on the CBC with normal ferritin	Usually not iron deficiency (unless you also have an infection or long-term inflammation): often thalassaemia trait. Iron tablets will not help thalassaemia trait; ask about an Hb electrophoresis or HPLC test.

Get help today if

Low iron or haemoglobin with black, sticky, tar-like stools, vomiting blood, or passing a lot of blood from the back passage: call 112 or go to hospital now.
Low iron with haemoglobin below 7 g/dL, or with breathlessness at rest, chest pain or fainting: go to hospital today.
In pregnancy, haemoglobin below 7 g/dL, or breathlessness with any anaemia: see your doctor today.

Call 112 or go to the nearest emergency department. Ambulance: 108 (102 in some states).

Questions people ask.

What ferritin level means iron deficiency?
Below about 30 ng/mL usually means your iron stores are low, and below 15 is clear iron deficiency. If you have an infection or a long-term inflammatory illness, ferritin can look normal even when iron is low, so the doctor reads it with transferrin saturation and your blood count.
Why is my ferritin high when my haemoglobin is low?
Usually inflammation: an infection, kidney disease, arthritis or another long-term illness raises ferritin and also slows the making of red cells. This is called anaemia of inflammation. A doctor will look at your CRP, kidney and liver tests to find the cause.
Is high ferritin dangerous?
Mostly not. In India it is most often due to fatty liver, alcohol, extra weight, diabetes or a recent illness. It matters more when transferrin saturation is also above 45% or ferritin is above 1,000 ng/mL; then see a doctor within a week or two.
Should I stop iron tablets before an iron test?
Usually yes, for a day or two, because a recent tablet raises serum iron and saturation for about a day and makes the result look better than it is. Ferritin is less affected. Ask the doctor who ordered the test if unsure.

Where this can be checked

These are trusted general sources. The advice on this page is Dr. Arya’s, written for patients in India. Ranges differ between labs: go by the range printed on your own report.

Your whole report, read by your doctor.

Send every page, old reports too. He reads them himself and tells you what changed and what to do.

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Dr. Prabhat Arya · MBBS, MD (Internal Medicine)