The invention provides a method for reducing iron by smelting reduction in electrometallurgy. The method is characterized by taking electric energy as a heat source and natural ore or artificial ore, carbonaceous reducing agent and solvent as raw materials and comprising the following steps: pre-reducing the raw materials at the temperature of 700 to 900 DEG C for 4 to 6 h; heating to 1,400 to 1,700 DEG C in an electric furnace so as to smelt the furnace burden and reduce into molten iron and slag, and discharging the molten iron and slag to a foundry ladle; meanwhile, dedusting the smoke dust during the smelting, wherein the smoke is returned to a pre-reducing device and used as reducing gas; the smoke dust is used for manual granulation and recycled; the molten iron is cast and formed or directly used for steelmaking; and the slag is processed for other purposes. The method has the advantages of simple process and equipment, little occupation, low requirements on raw materials, wideapplicable range, low sulphur load of produced molten iron compared with molten iron of a blast furnace and good product quality, while saving investment and resources without needing equipment for coking, sintering and the like or using coke as fuel.