According to the chemical composition of steel, wire rods can be divided into two categories: one is carbon steel, which can be divided into low carbon steel, medium carbon steel and high carbon steel according to the carbon content; the other is alloy steel. At present (1992), there are more than 30 kinds of wire rod steel types, including ordinary low-carbon steel, high-quality carbon steel, welding rod steel, wire rope steel, stainless acid-resistant steel, heat-resistant steel, and rolling bearing steel.
According to the cross-sectional shape, the wire rods are round, square, oval, trapezoidal and special-shaped. There are very few squares, less irregular shapes, and generally more circular sections.