Driven by the background of "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality", the combination of the preparation and utilization of hydrogen-based fuels and non-blast furnace iron-making technology has become an irresistible trend for the transformation of iron and steel production from traditional "carbon metallurgy" to "hydrogen metallurgy". In this paper, the current status of non-blast furnace iron-making technology and the application of hydrogen-based fuels in non-blast furnace iron-making are analyzed. Based on a comprehensive analysis on the characteristics of resources and energy in China, it is concluded that in areas rich in coal, natural gas, wind-solar hydro-power and biomass, technologies such as coal-to-gas, natural gas steam reforming to hydrogen, and water electrolysis to hydrogen should be developed respectively. The innovation of non-blast furnace iron-making technology is conducive to promoting the development on direct reduction process of hydrogen-based shaft furnace and multi-nozzle rotary kiln pre-reduction-hydrogen-based smelting reduction process with hydrogen-based fuel in China, which can further promote energy conservation and emission reduction in the iron and steel industry.