The invention relates to a compact iron core structure, which comprises two to six mouth-shaped iron cores, wherein, each mouth-shaped iron core comprises an intermediate iron core column, a side column, an upper yoke iron and a lower yoke iron. Each side column is sleeved with an alternating current winding, the cross-section shape of the intermediate iron core column is different from that of the side column, two to six of the intermediate iron core columns are compactly combined and assembled into a combined intermediate column which has an angle of 360 DEG around the center, an assembled insulating partition is arranged between each two intermediate iron core columns, the outline of a cross-section rim of the combined intermediate column is of a circle, and one direct current winding is sleeved outside the combined intermediate column. The iron core structure effectively utilizes space to ensure that the iron core structure is more reasonable, reduces the whole volume of a saturable core superconducting fault current limiter and a saturable reactor and so on, strengthens the excitation degree of the direct current winding to the iron cores, decreases the magnetic leakage, reduces manufacturing cost, and contributes to industrialized application.