With the intensifying supply shortage of fossil energy and increasing pressure for carbon emission reduction, biomass carbon, as a novel reductant for carbon-containing pellets, has become an important technological pathway for promoting sustainable development in the metallurgical industry. In this study the lychee charcoal was selected as the reductant to investigate the effects of its proportioning ratio on the mechanical strength and metallurgical properties of pellets. The study results indicate that the compressive strength and drop strength of green pellets slowly decrease with the increasing of carbon content. The compressive strength of roasted pellets shows an initial decrease, followed by an increase and then a further decrease with the increasing of carbon content. When the carbon content of the pellet is 9%, the compressive strength still reaches 2,229 N/P, but it sharply decreases when the carbon content increases to 12%. Meanwhile, the metallization rate of the pellets gradually increases with the increasing carbon content, while porosity also increases accordingly. When the carbon content is ≥3%, Fe₂O₃ is completely reduced, and the binding phase transitions from CaSiO₃ to complex silicates. The reduction swelling index remains below 0.4% in all cases, thus effectively inhibiting reduction swelling. Additionally, all pellets show excellent low-temperature reduction disintegration performance, and when the carbon content of the pellets is 6%, the overall metallurgical properties of the pellets are optimal.