The present work evaluates the effect of hydrogen on the mechanical properties of iron-based alloys by tensile tests. Both uncharged and electrochemically in-situ hydrogen charged notched samples were tested using a cross-head speed of 5 mm/min. These experiments were performed both on advanced multiphase high-strength steels and lab-cast Fe-C alloys. A significant hydrogen embrittlement was observed as ductility dropped with 20 to 60% under severe H-charging conditions. Considerable differences in behavior were found for the different grades. Fractography was performed by scanning electron microscopy and it was observed that hydrogen charging caused a change from an originally ductile fracture surface to a transgranular cleavage failure near the notch.