A water cooling treatment was applied in the coal-based reduction of high-chromium vanadium and titanium (V–Ti–Cr) iron ore from the Hongge region of Panzhihua, China. Its effects on the metallization ratio (η), S removal ratio (R_S), and P removal ratio (R_P) were studied and analyzed on the basis of chemical composition determined via inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy. The metallic iron particle size and the element distribution of Fe, V, Cr, and Ti in a reduced briquette after water cooling treatment at 1350°C were determined and observed via scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the water cooling treatment improved the η, R_S, and R_P in the coal-based reduction of V–Ti–Cr iron ore compared to those obtained with a furnace cooling treatment. Meanwhile, the particle size of metallic iron obtained via the water cooling treatment was smaller than that of metallic iron obtained via the furnace cooling treatment; however, the particle size reached 70 μm at 1350°C, which is substantially larger than the minimum particle size required (20 μm) for magnetic separation. Therefore, the water cooling treatment described in this work is a good method for improving the quality of metallic iron in coal-based reduction and it could be applied in the coal-based reduction of V–Ti–Cr iron ore followed by magnetic separation.