It really is cast iron -- not just part of it, like some fire pits touting the "cast iron" label, when in fact it's only their legs or their base. This is hefty and handsome and big. Wish it came with a cover, and wish it sat a little higher off the ground. But it is far superior to all others in this price range by our reckoning. Our last fire pit completely rusted through in three years, this one should be good for a decade or more.