With advantages of high Fe grade, less harmful impurities and relatively low price, specularite is one of ideal raw materials for improving sinter grade and reducing raw material cost. However its physicochemical characteristics lead to poor granulating performance and low degree of assimilation and melt generation at high temperature, consequently affect the productivity and quality of sinter. Unfortunately the existing methods of improving sintering performance for concentrates are not applicable to specularite concentrates. In this paper, a pre-briquetting process was developed to improve the sintering performance of specularite concentrates. Experimental results of ore blends containing 24%–36% specularite concentrate showed that pre-briqutting process made specularite into larger particles alone instead of distributing in sintering layer, consequently improved the green bed permeability by 10.28%–25.91%, the vertical sintering speed and the sintering productivity by 5.40%–18.63% and 7.09%–25.81%, respectively. Furthermore, the sinter of pre-briquetting process obtained a better tumble strength which was achieved at a lower fuel rate. By pre-briquetting process, the sinter tumble strength is improved by 1.52% while the fuel consumption is decreased by 2.00 kg/t under condition that 36% specularite was contained. Meanwhile, the reducibility (RI) and low temperature reduction disintegration (RDI_+3.15) of sinter could be improved by pre-briquetting process especially when the ratio of specularite was more than 30%. Microscopic observation showed that more calcium ferrite phase and less magnetite appeared in the sinter of pre-briquetting than that of traditional sintering process, means the mineral composition and structure got ameliorated by pre-briquetting process.