The orientation behavior of acicular iron particles in an applied field has been surveyed. A large orienting field is needed to align alpha-Fe particles. Dispersion degree and drying speed affect the particle alignment significantly when permanent magnets were used as orienting apparatus. To get high orientation of alpha-Fe metal tape, a new orientation process was introduced. This process used both a repulsive magnet pair and an electromagnet to get the orienting field for the coated tape.