Zr/ZrH2 particles with irregular morphologies and broad size distribution were uniformly coated with acicular α-FeOOH crystal grains via a facile route without using polymers or surfactants. The as-synthesized material was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), UV–vis diffusion reflection (UV–vis) and Raman spectrometry. Based on these characterizations, the synthesis mechanism was explained in terms of combined heterogeneous nucleation and solid state transformation reaction. The presence of α-FeOOH coating greatly changed the combustion behavior of Zr/ZrH2 particles: the combustion lasting time decreased from 32 s for un-coated Zr/ZrH2 particles to 0.2 s for coated particles while the maximum temperature in the combustion process increased from 1510 °C to 2036 °C.