diff --git a/changelogs/fragments/584_firewalld_opt_type.yml b/changelogs/fragments/584_firewalld_opt_type.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ffc052e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/fragments/584_firewalld_opt_type.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+---
+minor_changes:
+  - firewalld - Changed the type of the forward option from str to bool (https://github.com/ansible-collections/ansible.posix/issues/582).
diff --git a/plugins/modules/firewalld.py b/plugins/modules/firewalld.py
index 167c449..1ab66fc 100644
--- a/plugins/modules/firewalld.py
+++ b/plugins/modules/firewalld.py
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ options:
     description:
       - The forward setting you would like to enable/disable to/from zones within firewalld.
       - This option only is supported by firewalld v0.9.0 or later.
-    type: str
+    type: bool
   masquerade:
     description:
       - The masquerade setting you would like to enable/disable to/from zones within firewalld.
@@ -875,7 +875,7 @@ def main():
             state=dict(type='str', required=True, choices=['absent', 'disabled', 'enabled', 'present']),
             timeout=dict(type='int', default=0),
             interface=dict(type='str'),
-            forward=dict(type='str'),
+            forward=dict(type='bool'),
             masquerade=dict(type='str'),
             offline=dict(type='bool', default=False),
             target=dict(type='str', choices=['default', 'ACCEPT', 'DROP', '%%REJECT%%']),