Hemochromatosis is caused by excessive levels of iron in the body, resulting in iron deposits in the cells of the liver, heart and other substantial organs, causing degenerative changes and fibrosis in these cells, tissues and organs. Hemochromatosis is a hereditary disease, and the current clinical diagnosis of hemochromatosis is based on a combination of clinical manifestations, and laboratory tests. The most commonly used tests are the determination of serum iron, serum ferritin, total iron binding capacity and transferrin saturation. Usually, hemochromatosis is highly suspected when the serum iron is greater than 32 μmol/L and the transferrin saturation is 60% or higher with a tendency to increase gradually. After excluding other causes of these changes, hemochromatosis can be diagnosed. There is no good cure for hemochromatosis, but iron chelators are usually used to remove excess iron from the body, commonly known as desferrioxamine.