The invention relates to a method for extracting iron from copper smelting waste residue. The method comprises the following steps: pulverizing copper slag, a reductant which is a mixture comprising one or more of anthracite, graphite, petroleum coke and coke, calcium oxide or calcium carbonate into a certain granularity, fully mixing the materials, carrying out mineralogical reconstruction and carbothermal reduction under high temperature to convert fayalite in the residue into iron oxide and then reduce the iron oxide into iron, and recovering the iron by magnetic separation, wherein, nonmagnetic products can be taken as raw materials for burning cement.