Abstarct: Abstract This study aimed to investigate the persuasive strategies of Iranian EFL learners’ persuasive writings and also the differences between the two genders in the use of persuasive strategies. Therefore, the Online Oxford Placement Test (OOPT) was used to select 128 advanced Iranian EFL learners to take part in this study. The majority of participants were postgraduate (M.A. & Ph.D.) students from several Iranian universities, although there were also a few undergraduates. They were aged over 21 years of age and were majoring in Teaching English as a foreign language, Translation studies, or English literature as their main field of study. Participants were required to select two out of three subjects and write two distinct essays (each between 200 and 250 words) for each of them. In their essays, Iranian EFL learners were expected to promote new English language software to convince readers to purchase it, persuade their boss to give them a promotion, and encourage parents of English language learners to enroll their children in a newly founded English language institution. The seven principles of persuasive strategies presented by Cialdini (1984, 2016) including reciprocity, commitment & consistency, social proof, liking, authority, scarcity, and unity were used as the frxamework of this study. Then, the data was collected and analyzed. The results demonstrated that liking, unity, and authority were used more than others expected. In addition, the findings revealed that Iranian EFL learners have used reciprocity and consistency & commitment principles equally, and also, they have made few uses of social proof and scarcity. Scarcity was the least used strategy by Iranian EFL learners. Also, the result shows the differences between the use of persuasive strategies in males and females. Finally, pedagogical implications were discussed in the context of language learning and teaching.