An array substrate, a manufacturing method thereof, and a display panel are provided. The array substrate includes an active layer, a metal contact layer, a gate insulating layer, a gate layer, a source/drain layer, and a pixel electrode, which are sequentially disposed on a substrate. An insulating area of the metal contact layer corresponds to a channel area of the active layer, and a conductive area of the metal contact layer is disposed at two sides of the insulating area. A source and a drain of the source/drain layer are individually connected to the conductive area. Therefore, a problem of relatively high electrical resistance of a conductorized IGZO area in conventional TFT devices can be solved.