In the 3rd century BC, both iron weapons and armour became more common. One sample discovered in Yi county, Hebei Province was composed of 89 lamellae, averaging 5 cm x 4 cm. Iron helmets constructed with multiple lamellae began to replace the one piece bronze helmets of old. It consisted of individual armour pieces (lamellae, lamella singular) that were either riveted or laced together to form a suit of armour. Lamellar armour of leather (more appropriately considered untanned or superficially tanned rawhide), bronze and iron appeared by the mid-4th century BC. By the 19th century most Qing armour, which was of the brigandine type, were purely ceremonial, having kept the outer studs for aesthetic purposes, and omitted the protective metal plates.

During the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), brigandine began to supplant lamellar armour and was used to a great degree into the Qing dynasty (1644–1912). Chain mail had been known since the Han Dynasty, but did not see widespread production or battlefield use, and may have seen as 'exotic foreign armor' used as a display of wealth for wealthier officers and soldiers. Partial plate armour was popular from the Northern and Southern dynasties (420–589), and mail and mountain pattern armour from the Tang dynasty (618–907). Lamellar armour was supplemented by scale armour since the Warring States period or earlier. Chinese armour was predominantly lamellar from the Warring States period (481 BC–221 BC) onward, prior to which animal parts such as rhinoceros hide, rawhide, and turtle shells were used for protection.

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