While coupling wastewater treatment with microalgal bioenergy production is very promising, new approaches are needed to enhance microalgal growth and lipid accumulation in wastewater. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of iron on the growth, nutrient removal, and lipid accumulation of Scenedesmus sp. LX1 in both artificial wastewater and domestic secondary effluents. When increasing the iron concentration from 0 to 2 mg/l in the artificial wastewater, the biomass production of Scenedesmus sp. LX1 increased from 0.17 to 0.54 g/l; the nitrogen and phosphorus removal efficiency increased from 15.7% and 80.6% to 97.0% and 99.2%, respectively; and the lipid content was enhanced 84.2%. The relationship between the carrying capacity/maximal population growth rate of Scenedesmus sp. LX1 and the initial iron concentration were also in accordance with the Monod model. Furthermore, when increasing the iron concentration to 2 mg/l in four different domestic secondary effluent samples, the lipid content and lipid production of Scenedesmus sp. LX1 was improved by 17.4-33.7% and 21.5-41.8%, respectively.